Konglomerát

Konglomerát is a term used in several languages to refer to two related concepts: a large corporate group and a geologic rock. In business, a conglomerát is a corporation that owns a portfolio of diverse, often unrelated, subsidiary companies. The parent company exercises control and coordinates strategy across different industries, such as manufacturing, services, and finance. Conglomerates typically form through mergers and acquisitions or through deliberate diversification. They aim to spread risk, access capital, and leverage shared management, distribution networks, or technologies. Critics say diversification can reduce focus, blur accountability, and lead to a diversification discount in the market. Over time, many economies have seen restructurings such as spin-offs of non-core units and enhanced regulatory scrutiny.

In geology, konglomerát is a clastic sedimentary rock composed of rounded clasts larger than about 2 millimeters, set in a finer-grained matrix. The clasts, derived from weathered source rocks, are transported by high-energy environments—rivers, alluvial fans, or coastal settings—and become cemented by minerals like silica, calcite, or iron oxides. The rounded clasts differentiate conglomerates from breccias, which contain angular fragments. Conglomerates provide records of past sediment transport, depositional environments, and, through their stratigraphic position, clues to age and paleoclimate.