Often, a business combination like an acquisition or merger can be categorized in one of four ways: Vertical: the parent company acquires a company that is somewhere along its supply chain, either upstream (such as a vendor/supplier) or downstream (a processor or retailer). Horizontal: the parent company buys a competitor or other firm in their own industry sector, and at the same point in the supply chain. Conglomerate: the parent company buys a company in a different industry or sector entirely, in a peripheral or unrelated business. Congeneric: also known as a market expansion, this occurs when the parent buys a firm that is in the same or a closely-related industry, but which has different business lines or products.