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.
Bartow is a city in Central Florida east of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 15,340 at the 2000 census. According to the U. S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 16,278. It is the county seat of Polk County. Bartow is also part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town of Bartow was named in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first Confederate officer to die in the American Civil War. Residents of the city are known as Bartowans. While Bartow itself is not a very large city - the Polk County cities of Lakeland and Winter Haven have larger populations - Bartow does have the distinction of being the second largest in geographical area . The city has been called The City of Oaks, The City of Oaks and Azaleas and The Capitol of Imperial Polk County.