All state laws provide for the merger of corporations and most states now provide for the merger of limited liability companies and other entities (including a merger of different forms of entity). In a merger, two entities are joined by operation of law,

The acquisition of shares or membership interests is the simplest form of acquisition, especially if there are only a few stockholders and all are willing to sell. As in any other sale of securities, the seller will be subject to the antifraud provisions

A US partnership may be a general partnership, with unlimited liability for all partners, or a limited partnership, with limited liability for the limited partners. Corporations may be partners in either type of partnership

A non-US buyer may acquire shares or assets directly. As noted above, more often, a non-US buyer will establish a US acquisition vehicle in the form of a partnership or corporation to acquire assets and, often, shares.