But these firms' clout did not match their numbers.
Greater scale will also increase the combined firm's clout with suppliers.
Owning Adelphia, which would add 5m subscribers to its own 3m, would not in any case give the firm the clout of Comcast and Time Warner, which have 22m and 11m customers respectively.Is the bid the chairman's idea, or that of his son and chief executive, James?
Still others loathed the firms' political clout.
But both are expanding where they can, snapping up small and medium-sized producers as they become available.More consolidation would certainly give steel firms extra clout when negotiating ore and coke prices.
And given the firm's financial clout and sympathetic public stature, its attack on the fund has the potential, some lawyers and family members say, of plunging the entire program into disarray.
Small firms without political clout suffer most.Political neglect is hurting the economy.
And they are usually bought inefficiently and expensively.That is mostly because small firms lack buying clout; and rooting around for the best deal is time-consuming and expensive.
American firms have huge clout in Washington.
The know-how and inside information gleaned in "public service" are now worth huge amounts of money to financial firms looking for clout in dealing with Washington regulators.
