Cost synergies versus revenue synergies: which do acquirers and the market trust more, and why?

How to answer

Cost synergies. They come from eliminating clear redundancies (overlapping G&A, duplicate facilities, headcount, vendor consolidation), are roughly 5-10% of the smaller company's cost base, and are more predictable and controllable, so buyers and the market value them more highly. Revenue synergies (cross-sell, new markets, pricing power) are harder to realize, depend on customer behavior, take longer, and are discounted heavily, so you never lead a deal rationale with them.

Key idea: Cost synergies: predictable, redundancy-driven, valued higher; revenue synergies: discounted.