It centers this assignment on two broad topics: Performance Metrics and Merger Synergies. Use the headings and sub-headings below to organize your paper. This helps to ensure that you do not miss questions and also helps your reader to easily locate your responses.

Performance Metrics

Which company is a more efficient generator of income?

Which company is growing faster?

Using financial health ratios, which company is more profitable?

Which company has stronger valuation ratios?

Overall, which company is better run and why?

Your answers to questions a through d should be quite brief. Typically, each will require only 2 or 3 sentences. The first sentence should provide a short factual response, clearly showing which company has superior performance in the category. The other sentence(s) should provide a VERY BRIEF elaboration on your answer, such as We can see this by. or it shows This through a comparison of

Your response to question e should take a paragraph. Essentially, you are drawing together your

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analysis of the previous questions into a summary statement. However, also include any additional factors that may not have specifically addressed. Note that it is possible that one company may be better run than the other overall, but it is also possible that one may be superior in some categories and inferior in others. Your answer should present an explicit statement in the opening sentence and then expand on and defend your position by referencing specific performance data for support.