On [M&A] expectations, the problem lies with revenue synergies much more so than cost synergies. One study concluded that on average, the realization rate of cost synergies was somewhere between 60% and 90%. But the realization rate for revenue synergies was between 15% and 30%. It’s more straightforward to realize cost synergies — to gain efficiencies, to consolidate. So, companies tend to be much more successful when they try to pursue cost synergies in their mergers and acquisitions.
But revenue synergies are a whole different ball of wax in the sense that you have to get people to work together, you have to learn about geographies or markets or sets of customers that you might not have had exposure to. And so, the workload and the challenges associated with realizing revenue synergies tend to be much more significant.
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