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.
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (also known locally as the Black River). The city spans the Ottawa/Allegan county line, with 9.08 square miles (23.52 km) in Ottawa and the remaining 8.13 square miles (21.06 km) in Allegan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 35,048, with the 2008 census estimate placing the population at 34,076 with an Urbanized Area population of 95,394. The city is the largest municipality of the Holland-Grand Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has an estimated population of 260,364 as of July 1, 2008. Holland was founded by Dutch Americans, and is in an area that has a large percentage of citizens of Dutch American heritage who live in communities with such Dutch names as Harlem, Zeeland, Vriesland, Drenthe, Groningen and Graafschap. It is home to Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, institutions of the Reformed Church in America. In 2010, Holland was ranked the 2nd healthiest/happiest town in the United States by the Well-being Index.