Would it be rather bold to say that mergers and acquitions are happening at a faster rate than spin-offs? Are we as a capitalist society becoming more monopolized? (is this the right forum?)
(1) During bull-markets, companies merge (they marry). During bear-markets, companies divest (they divorce). (2) Regarding monopolization, it's better to say that we have oligarchization, a few 900-pound gorillas dominating an industry instead of a single 2000-pounder.