The company I was at was purchased by a much larger competitor. It wasn't a startup in the least. It was a 12 year old company. The first employee was an IT guy. He didn't win anything. Most of the 250 employees were laid off except for the IT team of 25 or so people. Customer Service, collections, marketing, operations, etc, etc, all gone. It was a high pressure situation and heartbreaking to witness and also somewhat gut wrenching to wait for the other shoe to drop.

One thing I learned is that during situations like that, the acquiring company sometimes NEEDS you to be there to ensure that their purchase does not lose value. In those cases they will provide valuable incentives. So if you find yourself in that situation and unhappy, feel free to find a better offer since you may well get a high value counter-offer.