Step 1 - Getting it together Cameron Balloons merged with Thunder and Colt Balloons in December 1994. Thunder and Colt had two large factories at Oswestry, both of which have since been closed. The company was purchased through the liquidator. At the time the balloon market was suffering from over-capacity. Vertical integration is when a company merges with another company at a different stage of production - forward means a stage ahead of it e.g. a brewery taking over a chain of pubs whereas backward means a stage of production behind it e.g. a brewery taking over a hop farm.
Conglomerate integration is when two apparently unconnected companies merge.
Many firms merge to take advantage of economies of scale. Justify your answer. Justify your answer. Step 3 - Merging profitably One key reason behind merger is of course to gain greater returns for the shareholders.