Perm Filed, but company acquired before perm was approved

[s205464]

Hello,

 

My perm was filed in Jan 2015 by company ABC, but company ABC was acquired by company XYZ in April 2015. My perm from Company ABC was approved in August 2015.

 

When I asked company XYZ's attorney if we can use this approved perm under 'successor in interest' clause and file I-140,  he said I will have to file a new perm from scratch because the first perm was only FILED but not APPROVED before company ABC got acquired.

 

Is this true? Does the perm have to be approved before the acquisition, for the 'successor in interest' clause to kick in ? Please advice.