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.
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, and is its county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,748, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs. Census estimates of 2007 indicate a population of 67,021. Marietta is the third-largest of three principal cities (by population) of and is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Georgia-Alabama (part) combined statistical area. In 2009, the mayor of Marietta was William B. (Bill) Dunaway, in his second and last four-year term as mayor.