Singlish - some more misunderstandings

Singapore flag.

Problems
Decipher this - I heard:

They are trying to break the company.

Answer
My first thought was, the speaker means:

They are trying to destroy the company.

I thought the rival company wanted to put the company being discussed out of business.

However, the continuation of the conversation, about which parts of the company were profitable and could be sold off, showed that the speaker meant:

They are trying to break up the company.

In other words, a rival company threatening or achieving a takeover wanted to divide the company.

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