Corporations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Spin-Offs, and Management Buyouts

• Corporations All ships and planets are owned by organizations known as "corporations". Although they are called corporations, they could also be royal families, religious cults, xenophobic societies, or any other group. These corporations are owned by their shareholders, who divide up the profits from the ships and planets. As a new captain, you initially own 100% of the shares in your corporation, and are its CEO.
  
  
• Mergers & Acquisitions
  The CEO of a corporation can attempt to acquire another corporation by making an acquisition proposal to the target company's CEO. (There is no way to attempt a hostile takeover, the target company's CEO must agree to the merger) If the merger is agreed to, the initiating CEO will become the CEO of the combined company. All shareholders in the acquired company exchange their shares for shares in the acquiring company. There are several reasons to consider a merger:
  • Mutual Protection: Ships that belong to the same corporation (and are at the same location) will come to each others' defense when attacked, and will participate in attacks launched on enemy ships.
  • Asset Diversification: When a corporation owns two or more ships, the loss of one of those ships will not be as financially damaging to the corporation's shareholders.
  • Survival: Other captains are unlikely to plot your destruction as long as they are partial owners of your assets.
  
  
• Management Buyouts
  If a captain decides to leave a corporation, he initiates a management buyout. The captain exchanges his corporate shares to buy his ships and planets from the corporation, and forms a new company to operate those ships and planets. If the captain does not have enough shares to pay for all his ships and planets, he will have to give the other shareholders some shares in his new corporation. If the captain has more shares than he needs to pay for his ships and planets, he will get to keep some of his former corporation's shares.
  
  
• Spin-Offs
  This is identical to a management buyout, except that it is initiated by the CEO of the corporation. Basically, the CEO is kicking an individual captain out of the corporation.