The maximum purchase price acceptable to the acquiring firm in a merger:

A) cannot exceed the pre-merger value of the target firm.
B) is always equal to the pre-merger value of the target firm.
C) is always less than the pre-merger value of the target firm.
D) a and c
E) None of the above

The maximum purchase price acceptable to the acquiring firm in a merger can exceed the pre-merger value of the target firm if the acquiring firm believes it can create additional value from the merger through synergies, cost savings, or other strategic benefits. Therefore, none of the given options accurately describe the maximum acceptable purchase price.