horizontal integration
noun[U]
ukusECONOMICS
asituationin which acompanybuysanothercompanythat has the sameactivities:
Thedistributionsystemwasconsolidatedbyhorizontalintegrationofwholesalers.
The mostsignificantchangeforglobalcorporationshas been themovetohorizontalintegrationduring thelater20th and early 21stcenturies.
Compare
vertical integration