A rollup (also "roll-up" or "roll up") is a process used by investors (commonly private equity firms) where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged.
Rollups may also have the effect of rationalizing competition in crowded and fragmented markets, where there are often many small participants but room for only a few to succeed.
Rollups are often part of the shakeout and consolidation process during an economic downturn or as new market sectors begin to mature.
James Buchanan Duke bought so many manufacturers that at one point he was controlling 80% of the tobacco business in the US and a huge share of the international trade.
AutoNation was also a rollup effort in the car dealership space spearheaded by Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management.