what does this sentence mean?

Question

The two investment bankers at Bank of America had been doing what presumably was their job. Acting on a tip from a rival banker, they had called a company preparing to merge with another and asked to get in on the deal.

just dont unerstand, anyone cares to explain?

Thank you.

Inchoateknowledge · Accepted Answer

difficult to disentangle the thread because the meaning is quite opaque.
the 2 bankers were suggeted they call a company. this company was about to merge with another.
the two bankers proposed in the telephone that who they called be involved in a business activity about which we can not deduce any info.

this is what the sentence conveys to me.

inchoate

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

maybe my explanation is more convoluted than the original sentence.

i am sorry

incho

Marius Hancu · Answer

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Merger
A form of corporate acquisition in which one firm absorbs another and the assets and liabilities of the two firms are combined.
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/glossary.asp?Index=m
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also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merger
see: M&A and Investment Banking

A merger is financed or insured in many situations by banks, which make a pretty profit out of it.

Based on information received from another banker, the B of A bankers called one of the partners in the merger and told them they wanted to be part of the banks involved in the transaction.

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

...they had called a company preparing to merge with another....
in my opinion, it means they had called a company that was preparing to merge with a 3rd partner.
they called a company. this company wanted to merge with a 3rd partner, not the two bankers.

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if i apply comma after 'company', for me the meaning alters in the following way.

.....they had called a company, preparing to merge with another....

it means the two bankers were already preparing to merge with a company .
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please help me to put things straight if i am wrong!

inchoate

Nona the brit · Answer

2 companies are going to merge; the two bankers heard about this and called one of the companies, as they would like to be financially involved.

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

asked to get in on the act = asked to be allowed to get in on the act ?

inchoate

Kanonathena · Answer

full text

Two senior investment bankers at Bank of America were summoned to a meeting where their boss, visibly uncomfortable and flanked by bank lawyers, read them a statement. They were both dismissed and asked to leave the building immediately. The decision was final.

Stunned, the bankers asked if they had broken any regulations. No, they were told. Nor had they traded on any inside information. Within the hour, they had turned in their BlackBerrys and laptops and were on their way home to the suburbs.

This example illustrates one effect of heightened regulatory scrutiny in the United States after the collapse of Enron and other companies. Corporations and their boards are adopting zero-tolerance policies and increasingly holding their employees to lofty standards of business and personal behavior.

The result is a wave of abrupt firings as corporations move to stop perceived breaches of ethics by their employees that could result in law enforcement action, or public relations disasters.

In the ruthlessly competitive world of investment banking, the two investment bankers at Bank of America had been doing what presumably was their job. Acting on a tip from a rival banker, they had called a company preparing to merge with another and asked to get in on the deal.

In a different era, such a ploy might well have been seen as an example of what hungry bankers do to secure an inside edge with a client and maybe even a better bonus - not an inappropriate use of confidential information and cause for termination.

These 2 banker are considered unethical and sent home.

what does acting on the tip mean?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

what does acting on the tip mean? Doing something based on information that they were given. The information was not generally known.

Best wishes, Clive

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