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.
Arthur is a village in Douglas County and Moultrie County in Illinois; Arthur's primary street, Vine Street, is the county line. The population was 2,203 at the 2000 census. The Arthur area is home to the largest and oldest Amish community in Illinois, which was founded in the 1860s. In 1877 the population was approximately 300 persons, with plans being made to incorporate as a village. This occurred in April in the County Court House in Moultrie County. The first village election was held on June 12, 1877 and C.G. McComb, Matt Hunsaker, W.H. Reeder, H.C. Jones, J.W. Sears, and Nick Thompson were elected trustees, and J.W. Barrum, clerk. The original town was laid out on the farms of M.H. Warren on the Moultrie side, and the Pendleton Murphy farm on the Douglas County side. Early additions to the town included those by Murphy, Reeves, Hunsaker, Gibson, Warren, Reeder, followed by Kensington, Campbell and Boyd, Bennet and Fitzjarrald, and more.