Diversification Acquisition

GE started out its life making refrigerators, toasters, and other "high-tech" devices in the early part of the 20th century. Previous to the General Electric inventions, housewives would simply soak their laundry in water, throw in a bar of lye soap, and have their thinnest child lean on the kitchen counter while they scrubbed out filth on their washboards.

But electric appliances weren't enough to GE, as company management felt that being exposed to one product line left them vulnerable to the economic cyclicality of upgrades. So they began to acquire companies in other, related industries in order to diversify the volatility of their product lines.

Because so many households bought appliances on credit, GE went into finance. The diversification acquisition spree ended up extending into television entertainment (yes, at one point they owned NBC) and went beyond. Diversification acquisitions aren't necessarily good...they are just a Thing.