For those interested in such stuff.

Buy out contracts//company acquisitions usually involve an 18 month+ management hand over, minimum. There is a hell of a lot to learn across an international distribution business so key staff will no doubt be obligated to hang on for a period and would have had the heads up.

In many cases it's not about the product as you don't want to break what is already working. There may well be a saturation point that's been reached as a whole for fin manufacturers. The only way to grow the company is to buy your competition. You effectively grow your percentage of a given market and maybe get some new distribution that was previously unachievable. And yes, the practice eventually leads to monopolies. Thnx capatilism!

^^ I would regard key staff as those that know the important elements of running the business. These could be share holders, contractors or employees.

In today's market good people are bloody hard to find, let alone keep so you'd be making sure to keep these knowledge holders happy by some mechanism.