51.   With bigger companies presumably better able to cut costs at overlapping operations, the mergers took off.

52.   Yet this activity is precisely the reason why Japanese mergers could now take off.

53.   A spokesman for Universal Securities Co., one of the two Sanwa affiliates, confirmed the talks and said the merger could take place next April.

54.   And mergers generally take longer in Japan than in the United States.

55.   But the companies gave few details of what they were discussing other saying a merger could take the form of a stock swap.

56.   Hagemeyer also said it has made a provision to allow its shareholder First Pacific Ltd. of Hong Kong to consolidate its holding in Hagemeyer once the merger takes effect.

57.   He said if no mergers take place, AMFB would have no choice but to go it alone.

58.   It had been reported that by conservative estimates, a merger would take at least six months to complete after obtaining the approval of the authorities.

59.   Murphy will relinquish his titles of chairman and CEO when the merger takes effect and join the Disney board.

60.   The companies said they expect the merger to take place by the end of October.