The selling stockholders do not pay taxes at the time of a tax-free acquisition.
Accounting for mergers and acquisitions involves a choice of the purchase method or
the pooling-of-interests method. The choice between these two methods does not affect aftertax
cash flows of the combined firm. However, most financial managers prefer the poolingof-
interests method, because net income of the combined firm under this method is higher
than it is under the purchase method.