As the economic screws tighten, acquirers are under mounting pressure to realize synergies from their targets as quickly as possible. BCG’s series of Focus Reports on postmerger integration (PMI) has already covered many of the keys to success but there are several special issues that demand careful strategic consideration. The third Focus Report in our series on PMI addresses four of these issues including carve-outs, unionization, cross-border mergers and acquisitions in rapidly developing economies (RDEs), and customer-focused deals.