Paraphrasing (8th paragraph)
Text
Already, it is happening: In late January, Merck6 & Co. (MRK) said it was spinning off its Medco pharmacy benefits unit to focus on its drug-development business. And on Feb. 11, DuPont Co. (DD) said it was planning either a sale or initial public offering of its $6.5 billion textiles and interiors business.
The main idea of the paragraph
Some companies are turning to focus on markets where they have a global leadership position, for example, at Merck & Co. and DuPont
一些公司开始转而关注他们处于全球领先地位的市场，比如说默沙东公司和杜邦公司正开始这么做了。
词语解释
initial public offering (IPO)（股票）首次公开发行 （请参见第二章。）
The first sale of stock by a private company to the public. IPOs are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately-owned companies looking to become publicly traded.
In an IPO, the issuer obtains the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine what type of security to issue (common or preferred), best offering price and time to bring it to market.
IPOs can be a risky investment. For the individual investor, it is tough to predict what the stock will do on its initial day of trading and in the near future since there is often little historical data with which to analyze the company. Also, most IPOs are of companies going through a transitory growth period, and they are therefore subject to additional uncertainty regarding their future value. At the same time, IPO's are almost invariably an opportunity for the existing investors and participating venture capitalists to make big profits, since for the first time their shares will be given a market value reflecting expectations for the company's future growth.
