11.   Larger companies will buy smaller rivals at an ever-faster clip to boost profits and trim costs.

12.   Like the rest of the industry, One Valley is buying rivals to save expenses, spend excess capital and gain customers.

13.   Mellon Bank Corp. is among the U.S. regional banks that will either have to buy rivals or sell as banks around them grow through acquisitions, analysts said.

14.   Officials of the Hearst Corporation, which owns the Examiner and is buying the rival San Francisco Chronicle, announced Tuesday that they had receive more than one proposal.

15.   Several of its top companies, including Ceramiche Filippo Marazzi SpA and Cisa Cerdisa SpA, have recently bought rivals to gain market share at home and abroad.

16.   So the biggest are buying rivals, and as they grow they negotiate better prices from suppliers.

17.   Some of the biggest banks bought regional rivals to reduce expenses by firing employees and closing overlapping branches.

18.   The banking industry is consolidating at a record pace, as banks buy rivals to slash overhead costs and boost earnings by expanding into new markets.

19.   The banking industry is consolidating at a record pace, as banks buy their rivals to slash overhead costs and boost earnings by expanding into new markets.

20.   The company may also buy some rivals.