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.
Smithers is a city in West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. Almost all of the city is in Fayette County, with a very small part in Kanawha County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 904 (901 in Fayette County, 3 in Kanawha County). The small river city is noted for having a rich cultural history related to both its coal mining and Italian-American heritages.