Through the lens of Porter's Five Forces for an industry, why might two companies choose to horizontally merge? O Companies merging can usually reduce their overall cost, as they can eliminate similar departments. Horizontal mergers can reduce the intensity of competitive rivalry, meaning the new merged company can make higher profits than otherwise would be possible if the firms were competing. The two companies believe they can create synergy to make the combined positives greater than the sum of their individual positives within their business. The companies want to take advantage of their supplies or distributors to make the new merged firm more efficient. The two companies' executives are tired of competing with their rivals, so they want to join forces with the enemy to rid themselves of this competition