OE:
The original sentence is incorrect in its treatment of the Verbs having pulled and led. The verbs conceded at the beginning of the sentence and pulled serve logically parallel functions in the sentence, and so should use correct Parallelism. The construction having pulled is not parallel in the sentence. Also, the use of led after the comma is incorrect, as the logical Meaning is that led to a sharp drop in the company’s share price is not serving as a third item in the list, but as a distinct clause describing the results of the actions of the company. The use of led in this sentence incorrectly suggests that the soap manufacturer itself led to a sharp drop in the company’s share price; more precisely, it was the concession of the soap manufacturer and its pulling of the product, not the soap manufacturer itself, that led to the drop. Led is more appropriately treated as distinct from, and not parallel to, the verbs conceded and pulled.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) CORRECT. In this choice, pulled is treated in a structurally parallel manner to conceded. Also, leading correctly begins the verb clause after the comma and correctly attributes the drop in share price to the manufacturer’s actions.
(C) This choice incorrectly uses the gerund pulling; the verb should be parallel to conceded, as these verbs are used in a logically parallel manner in the sentence.
(D) This choice incorrectly treats the final verb clause led to a sharp drop in the company’s share price as a third item in the list, when it serves a different function in the sentence. The construction in this choice also incorrectly suggests that the soap manufacturer itself led to a sharp drop in the company’s share price; more precisely, it was the concession of the soap manufacturer, not the soap manufacturer itself, that led to the drop.
(E) The use of the verb construction having led is unjustified in the sentence, and also incorrectly attributes the drop in share price to the soap manufacturer itself as opposed to the manufacturer’s actions.