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.
Westfield is a city in Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 189 at the 2000 census. It is the westernmost point in Iowa, this being due to a bend in the Big Sioux River. A sign on the highway says "In Iowa, West Is The Best". The nearby Broken Kettle wildlife refuge is one of the few places in Iowa where rattlesnakes are commonly found. Westfield is the purported home town of the central character, Jack Smurch, in James Thurber's 1931 short story "The Greatest Man in the World. " Smurch flew a second-hand, single-motored monoplane in July 1937 all the way around the world, without stopping.