Abstract
This article focuses on the metaphoric construction of mergers and acquisitions in the media. In the focus of the analysis is a series of mergers and acquisitions leading to the construction of a pan-Nordic financial services group called Nordea. The analysis points out that (1) the metaphors used relate to social domains such war and battle, marriage and family life, and sports and game, (2) the metaphors (re)construct often simplistic cultural conceptions of people and organizations, and (3) that these metaphors are in no way "neutral" but an essential part of the discursive construction of specific mergers and acquisitions.