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.
Gladstone is a city located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 11,438. The 2007 estimate is 12,200 residents. Gladstone is a four-square-mile (10 km²) suburban community twelve miles (19 km) south of Portland at the confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette rivers. To the south, across the Clackamas River, is Oregon City, across the Willamette is West Linn, to the north is Milwaukie.