Synergy Concept: Types of Synergies, Reasons, and Examples

A savvy seller can command a substantial premium when the revenue synergy that the selling company provides is unique to the buyer. Conversely, a savvy buyer can often easily justify paying a substantial premium confident that the increase in revenues post close will offset the additional consideration provided to the seller. In that case, the company can enjoy management synergy in the form of increased staff motivation, improved service delivery, correct use of resources, and additional opportunities for business growth. When two companies merge, there is a reorganization of the management teams. Depending on the goals and character of the management team members, the synergistic effect may be positive or negative.

Teams can use features like pipeline management to access company information that is vital in determining synergies. The sales team should be part of this customer study as it will need to understand the strategy and synergy goals. Employees are what make companies successful, and when a merger or acquisition takes place, key employees are often targets for recruiters to poach.

Merger and acquisition synergies

When a transaction has synergy, it means that the value of the newly created entity will be greater than the value of the separate individual parts. Some collaborations of mergers fail because of differences in company culture. Failure is also due to strategic differences, in which each party pursued its own interest. Synergy means joining or cooperation will create more value than separation.

• To estimate and evaluate synergies in M&A deals, analysts often use valuation methods such as the discounted cash flow (DCF) model, the transaction multiples method, or the accretion/dilution analysis.
• A third type of restructuring deal is a restructuring or a turnaround, where a company reorganizes its operations, finances, or governance to address a crisis, a decline, or a distress situation.
• As a result, the new firm generates higher revenue than the two firms would have been able to accomplish on their own.
• Also, management synergy can include reducing duplicate job positions and redundant levels of management.
• Companies that operate established distribution networks in specific geographical locations may enter into an M&A transaction with companies with distribution networks in other geographical markets.

For example, if a company has net assets of $725,000 and an investor agrees to pay $1 million for the company, there will be a goodwill value of $275,000 reflected on the balance sheet. Also, management synergy can include reducing duplicate job positions and redundant levels of management. For example, Company X is worth $400 million, and Company Y is worth $150 million independently. However, when Company X and Company Y combine through an M&A transaction, they are worth $650 million.

Revenue Synergy Example

In other words, if company A, worth $200 million, acquires company B, worth $50 million, and if their combined value grows to $290 million, the merger results in a synergy of $40 million. The value of the combined firm is obviously more valuable and profitable than when two firms operate separately. The strategic alliance partnership between Renault and Nissan is not a merger or an acquisition. The structure was unique in the auto industry during the 1990s consolidation trend and later served as a model for General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroen. Revenue synergies can create very attractive economics for both buyer and seller.

Concentrate on the quick wins in the deal first (for example, sales channel integration) and slowly work towards more challenging ones (layoffs and redundancy packages for surplus employees). A good example of financial synergies in a deal was the proposed $160 billion acquisition of Allergan by Pfizer. Similarly, increasing the acquirer’s access to new research and development can allow for advancements in production that yield cost savings. Revenue synergy is based on the premise that the two companies combined can generate higher sales than the sum of their individual sales. Synergy, most commonly used in M&A, refers to the additional value created by a transaction.

What Is Operating Synergy

For example, if the company needs a strong marketing department and is willing to offer some other advantage instead, the deal has a right to life. Benefits relating to a company’s cost of capital are referred to as financial synergies. Successful financial synergy is when the merger of two companies results in increased revenue, tax benefits, and better debt capacity. Financial synergies relate to the company’s cost of capital — mergers and acquisitions transactions allow companies to reduce their cost of capital.

The term “synergy” used to be considered exclusively a word belonging to the field of exact sciences. This term explained the phenomenon of two combined substances producing more effects than each of them separately. Over time, the term also came to be used in a business during mergers and acquisitions.

SYNERGIES

Economies of scope can also be achieved by spreading costs over complementary goods. Having realistic expectations from synergies in types of synergy business is more likely to result in a successful deal. Synergies in M&A are often easy to imagine and plan but harder to implement.

• Employees are what make companies successful, and when a merger or acquisition takes place, key employees are often targets for recruiters to poach.
• The integration phase of anM&A transaction is essentially about getting to the synergies of the deal as quickly as possible.
• To get you going on understanding the full breadth of synergies for a new project, product, service M&A, or consolidation, download the free Synergy PowerPoint Worksheet.
• Synergy is the concept that the whole of an entity is worth more than the sum of the parts.
• They can also gain access to each other’s patents, allowing them to more easily create high-demand products.

M&A deals were made to achieve these synergies and to work twice as efficiently as if they existed separately. In this article, we will break down what is operating synergy and also look at other types of synergies. Goodwill represents the expected future value of a company's growth due to a merger or acquisition. Thus, the value of goodwill must account for the expected future cash flows, growth rates, revenues, and company capital cost. Complexity is one of the largest hurdles in harvesting synergies from mergers & acquisitions, partnerships, and consolidations.

Example of Negative Synergy

The two companies merge to form Northside Commercial Partners, which now generates $500M in annual revenue. Imagine there are two companies in the real estate industry called Commercial Partners and Northside Real Estate. In financial terms, synergy is when two or more companies have greater value working together than they do working separately. Additionally, while practitioners must be ambitious in identifying and outlining expected deal synergies, it is vital that they are realistic and do not not overestimate the deal’s potential synergies and value drivers. For example, a tool such as DealRoom’s M&A deal platform, is designed to be used before a deal even begins.

For a buyer, it serves as a roadmap and holds the management team accountable post close. As already mentioned, this type of merger is much more difficult, and statistics show that almost 70% of merged companies do not achieve the synergy that was originally expected. To achieve increased revenues, the companies must initially be compatible in many nuances, for example, they must complement each other in their strengths, be in the same business.

This comes in form of an increase in revenue, reduction in cost, operational efficiencies, and a better position in negotiating the terms of debt. A third type of restructuring deal is a restructuring or a turnaround, where a company reorganizes its operations, finances, or governance to address a crisis, a decline, or a distress situation. To estimate and evaluate these synergies, analysts typically use valuation methods such as the distressed valuation model, EV/EBITDA multiple method, or scenario analysis. Cost synergies occur when combined companies reduce their operating costs after merging.

Cost synergy is the ability of companies to reduce costs as a result of merging. A merged company can gain the ability to produce more goods, decreasing the average cost per unit. First, financial synergy refers to financial benefits companies may receive from merging.

Achieving marketing synergy can be particularly useful for small businesses, which often do not have large budgets for marketing. So, small businesses can benefit from marketing synergies by utilizing multiple, in-expensive initiatives. Synergy is reflected on a company's balance sheet through its goodwill account. Goodwill is an intangible asset that represents the portion of the business value that cannot be attributed to other business assets. Examples of goodwill include a company's brand recognition, proprietary or intellectual property, and good customer relationships.

When two or more companies combine, restructure, or divest, they often aim to create or unlock value by achieving synergies. Synergies are the benefits that arise from the integration or separation of businesses, such as cost savings, revenue growth, operational efficiency, or strategic advantages. In this article, we will explore the main sources and drivers of synergies in different types of restructuring deals, and how to estimate and evaluate them.