Fabulous Jewelry Inc. is considering a takeover of its competitor, Cranberry Dream Jewelry LLC. In general, Fabulous should go ahead with the acquisition as long as Cranberry is more valuable as a continued standalone company than it would be inside Fabulous.

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As a rule of thumb, firms should go ahead with horizontal integration (i.e., acquiring a competitor) if the target firm is more valuable inside the acquiring firm than as a continued standalone company. This implies that the net value creation of a horizontal acquisition must be positive to aid in gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage.