Mergers and acquisitions involve the consolidation of companies and can take several forms. The goals of M&As include achieving growth, profits, market dominance and long-term survival while maximizing shareholder value. There are three main types of mergers: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. Acquisitions occur when one company takes control of another through methods such as friendly, hostile, reverse or backflip acquisitions. M&As provide benefits like greater value generation, cost efficiencies, increased market share and competitiveness, but can also create challenges from integrating corporate cultures and resistance to change.