merger

[mur-jer] /ˈmɜr dʒər/
noun
1.
a statutory combination of two or more corporations by the transfer of the properties to one surviving corporation.
2.
any combination of two or more business enterprises into a single enterprise.
3.
an act or instance of merging.
Origin
1720-30; merge + -er1
Related forms
antimerger, adjective
demerger, noun
premerger, adjective
promerger, adjective
Examples from the web for mergers
  • In the previous seven years, only one of the mergers that had been brought here had been opposed.
  • The pharmaceutical industry consolidated through hundreds of mergers and acquisitions.
  • Instead, mergers have to be arranged and the many local interests involved in a particular school get a voice.
  • Economic realities, airline mergers and global events can sometimes cause aircraft to be removed from service.
  • Big brewing mergers of late have been driven by two differing goals.
  • Instead, they have concentrated on domestic mergers.
  • In particular, mergers take discouragingly long to complete.
  • Investors have been treated to a rash of takeovers, mergers, cost-cutting and share buybacks.
  • Behind this normality lie two things that should worry enthusiasts about other bigger-is-better mergers.
  • Now the only way to make further cost savings may be through big mergers, followed by ruthless restructuring.
British Dictionary definitions for mergers

merger

/ˈmɜːdʒə/
noun
1.
(commerce) the combination of two or more companies, either by the creation of a new organization or by absorption by one of the others Often called (Brit) amalgamation
2.
(law) the extinguishment of an estate, interest, contract, right, offence, etc, by its absorption into a greater one
3.
the act of merging or the state of being merged
Word Origin and History for mergers

merger

n.

1728 in legal sense, "extinguishment by absorption," from merge (v.), on analogy of French infinitives used as nouns (e.g. waiver). From 1889 in the business sense; not common until c.1926. General meaning "any act of merging" is from 1881.

mergers in Culture

merger definition


The union of two or more independent corporations under a single ownership. Also known as takeovers, mergers may be friendly or hostile. In the latter case, the buying company, having met with resistance from directors of the targeted company, usually offers an inflated (overmarket) price to persuade stockholders of the targeted company to sell their shares to it. Such mergers often have been financed by junk bonds.

Note: Especially common in the 1980s, hostile takeovers have become highly controversial. Some contend that they bring needed infusions of capital and efficiency to the targeted company. Others argue that, having borrowed heavily to finance the merger, the buyer is forced to sell valuable assets of the targeted company to pay off its debt.