Imagine being on a treadmill. Suppose you are running at 3 mph now, but you are required to run at 4 mph next year and 5 mph the year after. Synergy would mean running even harder than this expectation while competitors supply a head wind. Paying a premium for synergy—that is, for the right to run harder—is like putting on a heavy pack. Meanwhile, the more you delay running harder, the higher the incline is set. This is the acquisition game.

—Mark L. Sirower, The Synergy Trap (1997)

In some mergers there are truly major synergies—though often times the acquirer pays too much to obtain them—but at other times the cost and revenue benefits that are projected prove illusory. Of one thing, however, be certain: if a CEO is enthused about a particularly foolish acquisition, both his internal staff and his outside advisors will come up with whatever projections are needed to justify his stance. Only in fairy tales are emperors told that they are naked.

—Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway 1997 Annual Report