merger

[mur-jer]

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.

   Astronomers say that the merger of galaxies can take a billion years.

4. Phonetics.,  the process or phenomenon whereby two distinct speech sounds come to be pronounced identically: for instance, the cot–caught vowel merger has taken place in some dialects of English.

merger

/ ˈmɜːdʒə /

noun

1. Often called (Brit): amalgamation. commerce the combination of two or more companies, either by the creation of a new organization or by absorption by one of the others

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

merger

1. 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.

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.

Other Word Forms

• antimerger adjective
• demerger noun
• premerger adjective
• promerger adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of merger¹

First recorded in 1720–30; merge + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The companies said the majority of the cost synergies would be achieved within the first three years after completion of the merger.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But some local PCCs have opposed the idea of force mergers.

Read more on BBC

The possible Nexstar-Tegna deal and the raising of potential changes to the rules, has triggered other TV companies to seek mergers.

Read more on MarketWatch

Even then, shares have badly lagged behind the overall market since the Discovery merger.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His fund owns the railroad Union Pacific, which he thinks can compete more effectively against trucking firms following the completion of its planned merger with Norfolk Southern.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• combination 
• tie up 
• unification 
• union