Final answer:
Argo Corporation's acquisition of Ballentine Company is a form of corporate merger or acquisition. The type, whether horizontal, vertical, conglomerate, or joint venture, depends on the relationship and industry of the involved companies, not on how the acquisition cost is recorded.
Step-by-step explanation:
Types of Business Combinations
When Argo Corporation acquires Ballentine Company and records the cost of the acquisition as an asset on its balance sheet, this transaction can be categorized as part of a corporate merger or acquisition. Depending on the nature of the businesses involved, there are several types of combinations:
A horizontal combination occurs when two firms that produce the same kind of product join together.
A vertical combination involves companies that are at different steps of the manufacturing process coming together.
A conglomerate combination includes a parent company and multiple companies making unrelated products.
A joint venture combination involves two firms coming together for a specific project or for a limited time.
In this particular instance, there are not enough details to ascertain the specific type of merger involving Argo Corporation and Ballentine Company. However, the type of merger is not defined by where the cost of acquisition is recorded, but rather by the nature of the businesses involved and their relationship to each other in the market.