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.
Irvine is an incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the 69.7 square mile (180.5 km) city has a population of about 212,793 (as of January 1, 2009). It has annexed in the past an undeveloped area to the north, and has also annexed the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, most of which is planned to be converted into the Orange County Great Park. Because of its good schools, jobs and housing, the city was chosen in 2008 by CNNMoney. com as the fourth best place to live in the United States. In June 2009, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that Irvine had the lowest violent crime rate among cities in the United States with populations of more than 100,000, and in August 2008 the Census Bureau ranked Irvine as having the seventh highest median income among cities in the United States with populations of more than 65,000. Irvine is home to the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Concordia University, the Orange County Center of the University of Southern California (USC), and the satellite campuses of Alliant International University, California State University Fullerton (CSUF), University of La Verne and Pepperdine University. Irvine Valley College, a community college, is also located in the city. Irvine is home to a number of corporations, particularly in the technology sector.