What is a Statutory Merger?

A statutory merger is a business combination in which one of the combining entities continues in existence as a legal entity. In this arrangement, the surviving entity takes on the assets and liabilities of the business being merged into it. As a result of this transaction, the merged entity is terminated.

This treatment differs from a statutory consolidation, where both of the merging entities are terminated and replaced by a successor organization. A statutory merger is the same as an acquisition, where one of the entities survives the transaction.