
Types of Synergies
- 1 - Revenue Synergies. Revenue synergy is based on the premise that the two companies combined can generate higher...
- 2 - Cost Synergies. If revenue synergies can be considered to be value added at the front-end, cost synergies might...
- 3 - Financial Synergies. Financial synergies are the improvements in financial activities and conditions for a...
- Patents: Similar to the cost-saving effect of a patent, access to patents or other IP may allow the merged firm to create more competitive products that produce higher revenue.
- Complementary products: Both individual firms may have been producing complementary products pre-merger.
What are the different types of synergies in business?
There have been a lot of categorizations for synergies but, in an effort to simplify matters, they have been broken into two forms, as mentioned earlier, which are the Revenue Synergies and Cost Synergies. However, to provide more details, we can further break them down into 4 types: Cost, Revenue, Financial, and Market.
What are the different types of synergistic effects?
Types of synergistic effects. 1 Marketing synergy. Marketing synergy refers to the marketing benefits that two parties in an M&A transaction may enjoy when promoting their products ... 2 Revenue synergy. 3 Financial synergy. 4 Management.
What are the different types of synergies in M&A modeling?
Types of synergies in M&A modeling. Below is a screenshot of CFI’s Mergers and Acquisitions Modeling Course. As you can see in the lower right corner of the assumptions section, there are various types of synergies that are incorporated into the model such as revenue enhancements, COGS savings, marketing savings, and G&A savings.
What are the reasons for synergies?
for several reasons, such as cost savings due to operational efficiencies or revenue upside due to more productive use of assets. Below is a non-exhaustive list of potential types of synergies that a company may face.

What are types of synergies?
The following are the main types of synergies that corporations enjoy:Marketing synergy. ... Revenue synergy. ... Financial synergy. ... Management. ... Savings on human resources costs. ... Costs incurred in acquiring technology. ... Distribution network.
What are the two forms of synergy?
Synergy can take place in two forms:Operating synergy: This refers to the cost savings that come through economies of scale or increased sales and profits. ... Financial synergy: It is the type of synergy which is due to financial factors such as lower taxes, higher debt capacity or better use of idle cash.
What are common synergies?
There are three common types of synergies: revenue, cost, and financial. A revenue synergy is when, as a result of an acquisition, the combined company is able to generate more sales than the two companies would be able to separately.
How many types of business synergy are there?
three sortsIf a group of people or businesses collaborates constructively to achieve a common goal, the result will be better (positive) than if they worked alone and vice versa. There are three sorts of synergies in the corporate sector – cost or operational, revenue, and financial.
What are the two types of divestitures?
There are three basic types of divestitures: sell-offs, spin-offs and split-ups.
What's the meaning of synergies?
Definition of synergy 1 : synergism broadly : combined action or operation. 2 : a mutually advantageous conjunction or compatibility of distinct business participants or elements (such as resources or efforts)
What are business synergies?
Synergy is a state of cooperative interaction where different participants contribute to common goals. In the world of business, “synergy” means a form of teamwork where different companies or departments merge their efforts for a greater combined effect.
What are operational synergies?
Operating synergy is when the value and performance of two firms combined is greater than the sum of the separate firms apart and, as such, allows for the firms to increase their operating income and achieve higher growth.
What are synergies in an acquisition?
Synergy in Mergers and Acquisitions Synergy is the concept that allows two or more companies to combine and either generate more profits or reduce costs together. These companies believe that combining gives them more benefits than being single and doing the same.
What are reciprocal synergies?
A reciprocal synergy would be two big oil firms such as Exxon and Mobil who realize that they would be way more efficient in their value chain, marketing, research, oil exploration, and distribution if they combined all their assets. Therefore, in this case a merger would make the most sense.
What are integration synergies?
Synergy in essence means that the value of the two companies combined will be greater than the sum of their parts. Synergies are most often the reason that mergers and acquisitions take place, but realising them is easier said than done.
What can teams use to determine synergies?
Teams can use features like pipeline management to access company information that is vital in determining synergies. Another option is to using a valuation spreadsheet, compare the inputs and outputs of the acquirer, the target, to the combined inputs and outputs if the two companies were to merge. Final Thoughts.
What is synergy in M&A?
Synergy is defined as the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate efforts. Whether you are conducting a M&A process on the buy-side, or a sell-side M&A process, synergies are immensely important.
Why is synergy important in M&A?
They are the driving force behind most mergers and acquisitions. Sources of synergy in mergers and acquisitions tend to revolve around revenue, cost, and financials.
What is financial synergy?
Financial synergies are often the most evaluated in the context of mergers and acquisitions. This type of synergy includes the improvement of financial metrics such as revenue, debt capacity, cost of capital, profitability, etc.
Why is it important to prioritize synergies early?
Because the first year of integration is critical for capturing synergies, it is wise early on to prioritize synergies that are “easy” to capture and will produce the highest return.
What is revenue synergy?
1. Revenue Synergies. Revenue synergy is based on the premise that the two companies combined can generate higher sales than the sum of their individual sales. It should be noted, however, the research shows that capturing revenue synergies takes, on average, a few years longer than capturing cost synergies.
Why are layoffs not part of mergers?
While layoffs are not always part of mergers and acquisitions, they are associated with the combining of two companies as most companies do not need two of each C-suite position and some staff positions. The elimination of some heavy-hitting salaries can result in cost savings.
What is the second type of synergy?
The second type of synergy in Mergers is the cost synergies . Cost synergy allows two companies to reduce costs as a result of the merger or acquisition. If we take the same example we took above, we would see that as a result of the acquisition of P Inc., G Inc. is able to reduce the costs of going to a new territory. Plus, G Inc. is able to get access to a new segment of customers without incurring any additional cost.
How many types of synergies are there in mergers and acquisitions?
There are usually three types of synergies in mergers and acquisitions that occur among companies. Let’s look at these different types of synergies so that we can understand how synergy works in different situations –
What is financial synergy?
Financial synergy is when two mid-sized companies merge together to create financial advantages. By going for financial synergy, these two companies not only achieve financial advantages in the case of borrowing loans or paying less interest, but they also are able to achieve additional tax benefits.
What is synergy in M&A?
Synergy in M&A is the approach of the business units that if they combine their business by forming one single unit and then working together for the accomplishment of common objective, then the total earnings of the business can be more than the sum of earnings of both the businesses earned individually and also the cost can be reduced by such merger.
What is the concept of combining two or more companies to create more profits?
Synergy is the concept that allows two or more companies to combine together and either generate more profits or reduce costs together. These companies believe that combining with each other gives them more benefits than being single and doing the same.
What is synergistic merger?
The term synergistic is derived from synergy, which refers to the benefit that results from the merger of two agents who want to achieve something that neither of them would be able to achieve on their own. The term is mostly used in mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
What is corporate synergy?
Corporate synergy refers to the benefits that two firms are expected to gain when they merge or when one firm acquires another. The synergistic effect of such transactions often forms the basis of the negotiations between the seller and the buyer. The following are the main types of synergies that corporations enjoy:
What is marketing synergy?
Marketing synergy refers to the marketing benefits that two parties in an M&A transaction may enjoy when promoting their products and services. These synergies include information campaigns, marketing tools, research and development, as well as marketing personnel.
What happens when two companies merge?
When two companies merge, they often become synergistic by virtue of generating more revenues than the two independent companies could produce on their own. The merged company may gain access to more products and services to sell through an extensive distribution network.
What is the benefit of a merger of two companies?
The merger of the two companies can give Company A access to the European distribution networks while Company B will gain access to the North American distribution networks. This will result in cost savings since the new entity will be able to distribute more products using the existing networks.
How does a merger affect the quality of a team?
However, when the team members are in constant conflicts with each other, it can result in decreased quality of products and services, reduced efficiency of operations, and poor utilization of resources.
What is the benefit of a combined entity?
The combined entity also stands to benefit from various financial synergies such as access to debt, tax savings, and cash flow. A merged company achieves a strong asset base inherited from the former companies, which allows the company to access credit facilities and use the combined assets as collateral.
Understanding Synergy
Synergy definition suggests two or more individuals or organizations collaborating to achieve a common goal. The combined entities may benefit from shared research and decision-making.
Synergy In Business
Businesses emphasize teamwork since collective efforts yield better results than individual efforts.
Examples
Let us look at some of the synergy examples to get an in-depth understanding of the concept:
Types of Synergy
Based on its application in business, synergy definition can be of three types, including cost or operational, revenue, and financial:
Recommended Articles
This has been a guide to what is Synergy and its Meaning. Here we discuss synergy in business, its types, along with examples. You can learn more about finance from the following articles –
What is synergy in business?
Synergy refers to the concept of two companies with complementary strengths and weaknesses combining their respective value and performance, resulting in total value and performance that is greater than the sum of the two companies.
Who plays the largest role in the realization of synergies that have been identified?
In short, it is the managers that play the largest role in the realization of the synergies that have been identified. Therefore, it is important for managers – from top to middle management – to be made aware of their responsibilities and, at the same time, keep them motivated to see that M&A through.
Why do companies do mergers and acquisitions?
Mergers and acquisitions are also entered into by businesses for the simple reason that they are seeking growth: growth of their market share, and growth of their company , as a whole. It is also one way of nurturing the growth of their power over costs, pricing, and similar aspects of business.
What is the result of mergers?
Mergers result in human resources that are tighter and more compact. Lay-offs and separations come with the territory when it comes to M&A. A ship only has one captain, and the combination of two companies means that there will only be one leader of the combined company.
What does it mean when two companies merge?
Normally, people have this notion that a merger or an acquisition means that one party wins while the other one loses.
Do synergies count in M&A?
One of the harsh realities about synergies that many companies attempting M&A often learn the hard way is that synergies do not really count for anything unless they are realized. Being able to identify the synergies is one thing; incorporating or integrating them into M&A is another.
What is synergies in mergers?
Synergies are an important aspect of merger and acquisition transactions and need to be carefully considered when planning the sale of a business. If you would like to have a confidential discussion about how CFSG can assist you in successfully preparing for and completing the sale of your business, please contact us.
What is synergy in M&A?
The concept of a synergy is the idea that two companies when combined are worth more together than they are when valued separately.
Why is revenue synergy so difficult?
Estimating revenue synergies in practice can be challenging because it is a forward-looking exercise and, therefore, inherently speculative. However, it is an important exercise to go through for both sides of a deal and it is one that often lends itself well to scenario analysis with various cases from ‘zero synergies’ through to ...
The Two Types of Synergies
Synergy is the idea that a combination of two companies will perform better than the sum of the parts. In M&A terms, synergy is the potential benefit both companies will achieve by combining their powers and is often the driving force behind the merger or acquisition.
Analyzing Cost Synergies
Cost synergies are by far the most reliable of the two synergies, with almost 1/3 of all CEOs acknowledging that they either achieved all or more of hoped-for-cost synergies.
Analyzing Revenue Synergies
Now we turn our attention to the sexier side of mergers and acquisitions, revenue synergies. Revenue synergy comes from the idea that the combined company will generate higher revenues than the sum of their companies.
The Reality of M&A Synergies
The announcement of mergers and acquisitions is often met with enthusiasm on Wall Street; typically, the announcement generates a price increase for the acquired company, especially if Wall Street approves of the merger.
Investor Takeaway
Capital allocation is the number one job of CEOs and the board of directors. Analyzing a company’s track record of how it treats shareholder capital goes a long way towards deciding whether we want to give this person our capital.

Types of Synergistic Effects
Example in Financial Modeling
- Below is a screenshot from CFI’s M&A Modeling Coursewhere you can see the synergistic impact of an acquisition.
Cost Synergy
- Cost synergy is the expected cost savings on operating expenses from the merger of two companies. Typically, when two companies merge to form one company, the combined company will enjoy synergistic cost benefits brought by the parties to the merger.
How Are Synergistic Impacts Accounted for?
- A combined company can record the amount of synergy resulting from a merger on its goodwill account, as well as in the balance sheet. Goodwill is defined as the value of intangible assets that cannot be attributed to other business assets. It occurs when a company acquires another company, and the goodwill represents the value of expected future growth as a result of the tran…
Additional Resources
- CFI offers the Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)™certification program for those looking to take their careers to the next level. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following CFI resources will be helpful: 1. Financial Synergy Valuation 2. M&A Considerations and Implications 3. Merger Consequences Analysis 4. Valuation Methods