The aim of the article is to explore and understand contemporary structural developments in Slovak higher education (HE). This work examines the pre-conditions, policy rationales and organisational forms of a new phenomenon: the formation of university umbrella structures. The paper conceptually uses the theoretical backdrop of sociological institutionalism and examines how the powerful concept of university mergers is translated and adapted into the context of Slovak HE. The analysis also attempts to answer the question on whether emerging university umbrella structures are only an organisational semblance of plausible policy imitation or if they are actual steps in a long way towards full organisational mergers.