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.
Fruitport is a village in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 1,124. The community is located within Fruitport Charter Township. Fruitport was founded by Edward L. Craw in 1868, who platted and named it as Crawville. It was renamed Fruitport a year later when the Pere Marquette Railroad built a station there, as the town was in the middle of a fertile fruit growing area and also a port. It incorporated as a village in 1891. In an election on November 8, 2005, 306 residents voted to dissolve the village municipal corporation, while 155 voted no. However, a 2/3 majority (308 votes) was needed to dissolve the village. This was the fourth time since 1979 that a proposal to dissolve the village was on the ballot for an election. In 1990, a proposal to disincorporate was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin while a proposal in 1998 failed by 41 votes.