Answer:
Mergers and acquisitions consist of either joining two or more firms, or having one firm acquire another firm.
The rationale behind a merger or acquisiton is always strategic: a merger or an acquisition is carried out with the goal of improving the economic position and performance of the firms involved.
Some business strategies that can be implemented by a merger or acquisition are:
- Horizontal integration: companies that sell similar products merge in order to join forces and expand their market reach.
- Vertical integration: companies in the same industry, but that sell different products (for example, one company sells cars and the other sells bikes) merge in order to expand their market share.
- Conglomerate formation: companies in different industries join in order to expand their markets even more.