Title 13.1. Corporations
Chapter 9. Virginia Stock Corporation Act
§ 13.1-716. Merger.
A. One or more domestic corporations may merge with one or more domestic or foreign corporations or eligible entities pursuant to a plan of merger, or two or more foreign corporations or domestic or foreign eligible entities may merge, resulting in a survivor that is a domestic corporation created in the merger.
B. A foreign corporation or a foreign eligible entity may be a party to a merger with a domestic corporation, or may be created as the survivor of a merger in which a domestic corporation is a party, but only if the merger is permitted by the organic law of the foreign corporation or eligible entity.
C. The plan of merger shall include:
1. As to each party to the merger, its name, jurisdiction of formation, and type of entity;
2. The survivor's name, jurisdiction of formation, and type of entity and, if the survivor is to be created in the merger, a statement to that effect;
3. The terms and conditions of the merger;
4. The manner and basis of converting the shares of each merging domestic or foreign corporation and eligible interests of each merging domestic or foreign eligible entity into shares or other securities, eligible interests, obligations, rights to acquire shares, other securities or eligible interests, cash, or other property or any combination of the foregoing;
5. The manner and basis of converting any rights to acquire the shares of each merging domestic or foreign corporation and eligible interests of each merging domestic or foreign eligible entity into shares or other securities, eligible interests, obligations, rights to acquire shares, other securities or eligible interests, cash, or other property or any combination of the foregoing;
6. Any amendment of the articles of incorporation of the survivor that is a domestic corporation or if the articles of incorporation are amended and restated, as an attachment to the plan, the survivor's restated articles of incorporation, or if a new domestic corporation is to be created by the merger, as an attachment to the plan, the survivor's articles of incorporation; and
7. Any other provisions required by the laws under which any party to the merger is organized or by which it is governed, or by the articles of incorporation or organic rules of any such party.
D. In addition to the requirements of subsection C, a plan of merger may contain any other provision not prohibited by law.
E. Terms of a plan of merger may be made dependent on facts objectively ascertainable outside the plan in accordance with subsection L of § 13.1-604.
F. Unless the plan of merger provides otherwise, the plan of merger may be amended prior to the effective date of the certificate of merger, but if the shareholders of a domestic corporation that is a party to the merger are required by any provision of this chapter to vote on the plan, the plan may not be amended subsequent to approval of the plan by such shareholders to change any of the following, unless the amendment is subject to the approval of the shareholders:
1. The amount or kind of shares or other securities, eligible interests, obligations, rights to acquire shares, other securities or eligible interests, cash or other property to be received under the plan by the shareholders of or holders of eligible interests in any party to the merger;
2. The articles of incorporation of any domestic corporation that will be the survivor of the merger, except for changes permitted by § 13.1-706; or
3. Any of the other terms or conditions of the plan if the change would adversely affect such shareholders in any material respect.
G. One or more domestic corporations may merge pursuant to this section into another domestic corporation if the articles of incorporation of each of them could lawfully contain all the corporate powers and purposes of all of them.
H. Any corporation authorized by its articles of incorporation to engage in a special kind of business enumerated in § 13.1-620 may be merged with another corporation authorized by its articles of incorporation to engage in the same special kind of business, including mergers authorized under § 6.2-1146, whether or not either or both of such corporations are actually engaged in the transaction of such business, and the shareholders of the corporations parties to the merger may receive shares of a corporation not authorized by its articles of incorporation to engage in such special kind of business.
Code 1950, § 13.1-68; 1956, c. 428; 1968, c. 111; 1973, c. 441; 1975, c. 500; 1980, c. 90; 1985, c. 522; 1991, c. 228; 2005, c. 765; 2006, c. 663; 2008, c. 509; 2009, c. 216; 2015, c. 611; 2019, c. 734; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 487.