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.
Gifford is an unincorporated community in southeastern Hardin County, Iowa, United States. It lies along local roads south of the city of Eldora, the county seat of Hardin County. Its elevation is 945 feet (288 m). Gifford's post office was established on 9 November 1875 and discontinued on 28 February 1907. Although the post office was reopened on 17 February 1908, it was again discontinued on 31 October 1954 and attached to the Union post office. Although its post office is gone, Gifford has its own ZIP Code, 52059, even though the ZIP Code system was not implemented until nearly nine years after Gifford's post office was attached to Union's.