If Tyson Corporation, a firm that raises and processes chickens, combined with Kentucky Fried Chicken, the resulting merger would be an example of a

A) horizontal merger.
B) geographic merger.
C) vertical merger.
D) conglomerate merger.

A vertical merger occurs when two companies that operate at different levels within the same industry's supply chain combine operations. Tyson Corporation, which raises and processes chickens, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, a company that sells prepared chicken to consumers, operate at different levels of the supply chain in the poultry industry. Tyson is a supplier, while KFC is a retailer. Their merger would streamline operations and potentially reduce costs, fitting the definition of a vertical merger.