I play Warren Buffet style and build large positions in other companies stock, sometimes enough to take ownership but I don't interfere with their operations and I seldom merge. I just build farms and factories and usually just let the AI deal with the retailing. Only other business is in media and real estate. Often I have like 6 or more subsidiaries and some of them even gain control of other companies thus giving me more subsidiaries. Its great for dividends, huge market cap, and big time assets.
The only drawback so far is that once a subsidiary of mine acquires all the outstanding shares their CEO starts asking me if he can buyback my shares. At first its no big deal, but multiply this by 6 or more companies and before I know it I get pop-ups every 60 seconds from someone wanting to buyback his companies shares. It would be awesome to be able to tell them "don't ask again" or "ask again next year" or something to that effect.
Nevertheless this game still kicks ass
