In the law of corporations, a merger is effected when one or more corporations becomes a part of, or merges, with another corporation so that one ceases to exist and the other continues to exist. In a merger, the company that continues to exist retains its name and identity and acquires the assets, liabilities, franchises, and powers of the corporation that ceases to exist. Attorneys who practice in mergers and acquisitions (sometimes called M & A) represent corporations and other business entities in strategizing, negotiating, and carrying out transactions in which two or more companies or corporations combine into a single new entity, a merger, or where one business purchases and absorbs the assets of another, an acquisition.
Ragland is a town in St. Clair County, Alabama, United States southeast of Ashville. At the 2000 census the population was 1,918. It is part of the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area. An F4 tornado struck southwest from here at 10:55 in the morning on Palm Sunday March 27, 1994. The National Weather Service of Birmingham issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee counties at 11:27. The tornado destroyed Piedmont's Goshen United Methodist Church twelve minutes later.