Conglomerate mergers and subsequent industry effects

The focus of most studies of conglomerate mergers has been on the effects on companies involved. Of more direct relevance to antitrust policy is the question of industry effects of this type of merger. This article looks at eleven cases of “large firm/leading firm” conglomerate mergers completed between 1958 and 1970 and examines census data to see if structure or performance of the acquired “leading firm's” market was altered due to the merger. The results suggest that industry structure is not significantly affected, but that there may be adverse performance effects when the acquired firm is a leader in an unconcentrated market with substantial entry barriers.