Horizontal integration

Horizontal integration is a strategy in which a company expands by acquiring, merging with, or otherwise combining with competitors at the same stage of production or distribution.

Merger: A merger combines two or more organizations into a single organization. A merger is one legal route for combining firms at the same production or distribution stage.
Conglomerate merger: A conglomerate merger combines firms whose businesses operate in unrelated markets. It contrasts with horizontal integration, which combines competitors in the same market stage.
Consumer welfare: Consumer welfare concerns the prices, quality, variety, and availability of goods and services received by consumers. Merger review often asks whether a combination would harm consumers through higher prices or reduced choice.
John D. Rockefeller: John D. Rockefeller was an American industrialist who founded Standard Oil and built a dominant petroleum business. Standard Oil's consolidation of refining competitors made Rockefeller a central figure in horizontal integration's history.
Organic growth: Organic growth is a company's expansion through its own operations rather than through acquisitions or mergers. It expands a business without combining it with competitors.
Acquisition: An acquisition occurs when one organization obtains control of another organization or its assets. Buying a competitor can expand a firm without merging the companies into one legal entity.
Vertical integration: Vertical integration combines businesses at different stages of a supply chain. Unlike horizontal integration, it joins suppliers, producers, or distributors rather than direct rivals.
Herfindahl–Hirschman index: The Herfindahl–Hirschman index estimates market concentration by summing the squared market shares of firms. Regulators use this measure to assess concentration changes following a proposed merger.
Standard Oil: Standard Oil was an American petroleum company founded in 1870 that came to dominate oil refining and distribution. Its consolidation of competing refiners became a landmark example of horizontal expansion.
Vertical merger: A vertical merger combines companies operating at different stages of a supply chain. It joins buyer and supplier relationships rather than firms competing at the same stage.

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