(a) Each limited partnership and other business entity that desires to merge shall approve an agreement of merger. The agreement of merger shall be approved by all general partners of each constituent limited partnership and the principal terms of the merger shall be approved by a majority in interest of each class of limited partners of each constituent limited partnership, unless a greater approval is required by the partnership agreement of the constituent limited partnership. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, if the limited partners of any constituent limited partnership become personally liable for any obligations of a constituent limited partnership or constituent other business entity as a result of the merger, the principal terms of the agreement of merger shall be approved by all of the limited partners of the constituent limited partnership, unless the agreement of merger provides that all limited partners will have the dissenters’ rights provided in Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 15911.20). The agreement of merger shall be approved on behalf of each constituent other business entity by those persons required to approve the merger by the laws under which it is organized. Other persons, including a parent of a constituent limited partnership, may be parties to the agreement of merger. The agreement of merger shall state:

(1) The terms and conditions of the merger.

(2) The name and place of organization of the surviving limited partnership or surviving other business entity, and of each disappearing limited partnership and disappearing other business entity, and the agreement of merger may change the name of the surviving limited partnership, which new name may be the same as or similar to the name of a disappearing domestic or foreign limited partnership, subject to Section 15901.08.

(3) The manner of converting the partnership interests of each of the constituent limited partnerships into interests, shares, or other securities of the surviving limited partnership or surviving other business entity, and if partnership interests of any of the constituent limited partnerships are not to be converted solely into interests, shares, or other securities of the surviving limited partnership or surviving other business entity, the cash, property, rights, interests, or securities that the holders of the partnership interests are to receive in exchange for the partnership interests, which cash, property, rights, interests, or securities may be in addition to or in lieu of interests, shares, or other securities of the surviving limited partnership or surviving other business entity, or that the partnership interests are canceled without consideration.

(4) Any other details or provisions that are required by the laws under which any constituent other business entity is organized, including, if a domestic corporation is a party to the merger, subdivision (b) of Section 1113.

(5) Any other details or provisions that are desired, including, without limitation, a provision for the treatment of fractional partnership interests.

(b) Each limited partnership interest of the same class of any constituent limited partnership, other than a limited partnership interest in another constituent limited partnership that is being canceled and that is held by a constituent limited partnership or its parent or a limited partnership of which the constituent limited partnership is a parent, shall, unless all limited partners of the class consent, be treated equally with respect to any distribution of cash, property, rights, interests, or securities. Notwithstanding this subdivision, except in a merger of a limited partnership with a limited partnership in which it controls at least 90 percent of the limited partnership interests entitled to vote with respect to the merger, the unredeemable limited partnership interests of a constituent limited partnership may be converted only into unredeemable interests or securities of the surviving limited partnership or other business entity or a parent if a constituent limited partnership or a constituent other business entity or its parent owns, directly or indirectly, prior to the merger, limited partnership interests of another constituent limited partnership or interests or securities of a constituent other business entity representing more than 50 percent of the interests or securities entitled to vote with respect to the merger of the other constituent limited partnership or constituent other business entity or more than 50 percent of the voting power, as defined in Section 194.5, of a constituent other business entity that is a domestic corporation, unless all of the limited partners of the class consent. This subdivision shall apply only to constituent limited partnerships with more than 35 limited partners.

(c) Notwithstanding its prior approval, an agreement of merger may be amended prior to the filing of the certificate of merger or the agreement of merger, as provided in Section 15911.14, if the amendment is approved by the general partners of each constituent limited partnership in the same manner as required for approval of the original agreement of merger and, if the amendment changes any of the principal terms of the agreement of merger, the amendment is approved by the limited partners of each constituent limited partnership in the same manner and to the same extent as required for the approval of the original agreement of merger, and by each of the constituent other business entities.

(d) The general partners of a constituent limited partnership may, in their discretion, abandon a merger, subject to the contractual rights, if any, of third parties, including other constituent limited partnerships and constituent other business entities, without further approval by the limited partnership interests, at any time before the merger is effective.

(e) An agreement of merger approved in accordance with subdivision (a) may (1) effect any amendment to the partnership agreement of any constituent limited partnership or (2) effect the adoption of a new partnership agreement for a constituent limited partnership if it is the surviving limited partnership in the merger. Any amendment to a partnership agreement or adoption of a new partnership agreement made pursuant to the foregoing sentence shall be effective at the effective time or date of the merger. Notwithstanding the above provisions of this subdivision, if a greater number of limited partners is required to approve an amendment to the partnership agreement of a constituent limited partnership than is required to approve the agreement of merger pursuant to subdivision (a), and the number of limited partners that approve the agreement of merger is less than the number of limited partners required to approve an amendment to the partnership agreement of the constituent limited partnership, any amendment to the partnership agreement or adoption of a new partnership agreement of that constituent limited partnership made pursuant to the first sentence of this subdivision shall be effective only if the agreement of merger provides that all of the limited partners shall have the dissenters’ rights provided in Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 15911.20).

(f) The surviving limited partnership or surviving other business entity shall keep the agreement of merger at its designated office or at the business address specified in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 15911.14, as applicable, and, upon the request of a limited partner of a constituent limited partnership or a holder of shares, interests, or other securities of a constituent other business entity, the general partners of the surviving limited partnership or the authorized person of the surviving other business entity shall promptly deliver to the limited partner or the holder of shares, interests, or other securities, at the expense of the surviving limited partnership or surviving other business entity, a copy of the agreement of merger. A waiver by a partner or holder of shares, interests, or other securities of the rights provided in this subdivision shall be unenforceable.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 130, Sec. 45. Effective January 1, 2008.)