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.
Pineola is an unincorporated community in Avery County, North Carolina; generally spanning out in a three mile radius from the intersection of US highway US 221 and NC 181. The area was originally known as "Saginaw" until the early 20th century. Pineola is the site of several businesses including an asphalt plant, a concrete plant, a sawmill, and a small hotel. The Linville River flows through the area, and is impounded by a dam into a small lake for a resort community. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes through the southeast portion of the area. During the early 1900s it was notably the site of a large logging operation and sawmill, owned by the W.M. Ritter Company. The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ("Tweetsie") operated into the community until 1939, when it received permission, by the Interstate Commerce Commission, to abandon Pineola.