Identify the form of business growth which is used in each of these situations. a) A garage agrees to merge with another garage. b) A bicycle retailer expands by buying a bicycle shop in another town. c) A fruit juice firm buys a fruit farm d) A business making electrical goods agrees to join with a business with retail shops specialising in electrical goods. e) A mining firm takes over a firm supplying mining equipment. f) A construction company buys a holiday company.

a) The form of business growth in situation a) is called a "merger." When the garage agrees to merge with another garage, the two businesses combine to form a single entity.

b) This is an example of "external growth" through "acquisition." The bicycle retailer is expanding by acquiring another business that is in the same line of its existing operations.

c) The fruit juice firm buying a fruit farm is engaging in "vertical integration." Specifically, this is backward vertical integration as the firm is acquiring a supplier to control its supply chain.

d) The business making electrical goods joining with a retail shop specializing in electrical goods is another form of "merger." Alternatively, it may also be considered "horizontal integration" if the two companies were previously competitors in the same market segment.

e) A mining firm taking over a firm supplying mining equipment is known as "forward vertical integration." This is because the mining firm is taking control over a part of its distribution or production process