企业兼并是商品经济社会中的一种常见现象。它是企业竞争的必然产物,可在一定程度上促进商品经济的发展,同时也可能对企业竞争带来消极影响。为此,许多国家的反垄断法或竞争法都严格监督企业的兼并行为。在美国,首次提出的对企业兼并须予以严格限制的法律是美国国会1914年通过的克莱顿法(The Clayto Act of 1914)。该法第7条规定:任何从事商业活动的公司都不得直接或间接地获取另一从商业活动的公司的全部或部分股票(stock)或股份资 Merger of enterprises is a common phenomenon in a commodity economy society. It is the inevitable product of the competition of the enterprise, which can promote the development of the commodity economy to a certain extent and also may have a negative impact on the competition of the enterprise. For this reason, antitrust laws or competition laws in many countries strictly monitor the merger of enterprises. In the United States, the law that is the first to be strictly limited to the annexation of enterprises is the Clayto Act of 1914 adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1914. Article 7 of the Act stipulates that no company engaging in commercial activities shall acquire, directly or indirectly, all or part of the stock or shares of the company from a commercial activity