Final answer:
Microsoft Corp. would need to offer approximately 21,576,923 shares to acquire 1.5 million Apple Corp. shares at $374 each with Microsoft shares at $26 each, after rounding to the nearest share.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking how many Microsoft Corp. shares would be needed to acquire 1.5 million Apple Corp. shares in an even swap, with Apple shares valued at $374 each and Microsoft shares valued at $26 each. To calculate this, you would divide the total value of the Apple shares by the value of one Microsoft share.
Total value of Apple shares needed = 1.5 million shares × $374 per share = $561,000,000.
Microsoft shares needed for an even swap = Total value of Apple shares ÷ Value of one Microsoft share = $561,000,000 ÷ $26 = 21,576,923.08 shares.
After rounding, Microsoft would need to offer 21,576,923 shares for an even swap. However, since this number isn't one of the provided options, it seems there might be an error in the question or the answer choices provided.