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.
Ocean Isle Beach is a town located in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 426 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located at the southern end of North Carolina's Atlantic Ocean coastline, with access to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Ocean Isle Beach has many beach houses and second homes, and is a tourist attraction because of its beauty, atmosphere, and proximity to other major beach towns. On October 28, 2007, the tiny, normally quiet community found itself in worldwide news as an early Sunday morning four-alarm fire at a three-story beach house occupied by 13 college students claimed seven lives, injuring six more. Widespread publicity and the magnitude of the tragedy of the Ocean Isle Beach house fire renewed public interest on issues in many communities which included fire safety, building codes, flamability of materials, and fire suppression methods such as sprinkler systems, as well as the potential benefits of monitored fire alarm systems, which can be added to existing structures at relatively minimal costs.