merger
MUR-jer
/ˈmɜːrdʒər/
A combination of two or more commercial companies or entities into a single unified firm.
Implies a voluntary union of equals combining operations, distinct from a hostile takeover or acquisition.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'mergere' (meaning to plunge or sink into water). In legal English, two corporate streams 'submerge' their separate legal identities into a single shared body, forming a single combined business entity.
Word relationships
- amalgamation: Amalgamation is a formal legal blending of entities into an entirely new legal shell, whereas merger is the common corporate term.
- consolidation: Consolidation implies combining multiple smaller operating units into a cohesive whole.
- divestiture: The selling off or breaking apart of corporate divisions or assets.
- demerger: The splitting of a single corporate entity into two or more independent companies.
Commonly confused with
- emergence: Emergence means coming into view; merger means joining two corporate entities together.
Word family
- merge (verb): To combine or cause to combine into a single entity.
Collocations
- merger and acquisition
- proposed merger
- block a merger
- merger clearance
Example sentences
- "The proposed merger between the two international automakers will create the world's third-largest vehicle manufacturer." Corporate business news
- "Antitrust enforcement authorities scrutinize any corporate merger that threatens to significantly increase market concentration." Antitrust enforcement policy
Memory hook
MERGER = Two streams MERGING into one single river. Merger = Two joining into one.
When not to use
Do not use when one company forcibly buys out another against its management's will; that is an acquisition or hostile takeover.
Fun facts
- In business journalism, the phrase 'Mergers and Acquisitions' is so common that it is universally abbreviated simply as M&A.
Related words
Also appears in
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