ABSTRACT
Mergers are common in the commercial sector but have, until recently, been less so in the voluntary sector. A merger is the joining of two organizations to form one organization. In the commercial world most interest in this activity occurs when the merger is not amicable but instead hostile, when it is referred to as a takeover or an acquisition. Given that voluntary organizations do not have shares and shareholders, it was believed that a hostile takeover could not happen. However, some charity mergers are not amicably agreed but have been forced by a funder, which threatens to stop funding one organization unless they merge with another. Charity mergers can also occur when there is a decline in support for a particular problem as, for example, the Terrence Higgins Trust and other HIV organizations.
