I particularly appreciated your "one-sentence lesson" for each of these examples, all of which are excellent. More often than not, mergers seem to be driven by that age-old desire to enrich shareholders. In my view, that tends to overwhelm good reason and focus on profit to the exclusion of all else. Many mergers try to blend clashing corporate cultures, while others claim to benefit customers and do just the opposite. It is a rare merger that is a winning combination.