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.
Ferndale is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,105. Ferndale is primarily residential, with a small industrial sector featured in the southeast part of the city. Ferndale's thriving business district is anchored by the intersection of Woodward Avenue and 9 Mile Road, where privately owned shops, unique storefronts, dance clubs, bars and numerous well visited restaurants are featured. The downtown has broad sidewalks, slow traffic, and many trees and benches. Ferndale is well-known in the Detroit area for its LGBT (non-heterosexual) population and progressive politics, having elected the first openly gay mayor in the state of Michigan in 2007.