enormous concentration of economic power resulting from the Third Great Merger Movement, during which over 9,400 firms disappeared through merger, increasing from 954 in 1961 to 2,442 in the peak year of 1968. This great merger wave took place during a period of prosperity marked by a rapidly expanding economy, easy money, and a bouyant stock market. The conglomerate firm was the most prominent feature of the Third Great Merger Movement.

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