Accretion Follow-Up - Technical Question

Another user posted this question, but it never got completely resolved. Could anyone help figure this one out?

Company A with 100M market cap and P/E of 10 is merging with Company B with 60M market cap and P/E of 20. To whom is the deal dilutive and why? What is the new P/E of the combined entity? What do the synergies have to be worth for it to be dilutive to neither party?

Any insight on this is appreciated.

Edit: To make it easy, lets say they both have 1M shares outstanding. So Company A has a share price of $100, and EPS of 10 since Share Price/EPS = P/E. Company B has a share price of 60 and EPS of 3. Company B is overvalued so the deal is dilutive to Company A because the new share price ought to be $80 (100M + 60M = 160M/2M shares outstanding = $80 share price) and the combined EPS will be 6.5 ((10+3)/2), so the new P/E will be 12.3. Synergies are 3M

Wouldn't the equity of company B have to be wiped out? How would one mathematically arrive at 3M?

17 Comments
 
  1. It would be dilutive to A, because B is trading at a lower yield than A. 5% vs 10%.

  2. (100+60)/(10+3)= 12.3x

  3. To be neutral for A, B need to trade at the same yield as A, which is 10%. However, B trades at 5%. Therefore, if B's market cap is 60, then at 10% yield, it would need to generate 6 in net income. B generates 3, so after-tax synergies would have to be 3 (= 6 - 3).

 

Just for the sake of answering the question (tho per the below, I think you might want to discuss more high level concepts), it’s as simple as this:

**Company A ** We know: Market Cap = 100 P / EPS = 10 Earnings yield is the inverse, so 1/10 = 10% That means, Market Cap / Earnings = 10 (since P/E = 10) So, 100 / Earnings = 10, or Earnings = 10

**Company B ** We know: Market Cap = 60 P / EPS = 20 Earnings yield is the inverse, so 1/20 = 5% That means, Market Cap / Earnings = 20 (since P/E = 20) So, 60 / Earnings = 20, or Earnings = 3

We assume, All stock deal

Calcs, Company A issues $60MM of stock to pay Company B’s shareholders, so Company A PF market cap is $160MM. Company A takes control of company B’s cash flows, so PF earnings are 10 + 3 = 13MM.

Now, our pre-synergy PF P/E multiple is $160MM / $13MM ≈ 12.3x, so our PF yield is 1 / 12.3 ≈ 8%.

If we want the deal to not be dilutive to either of the companies, we need to maintain the higher yield. If we know Company A has the higher yield (10%), we need to aim to maintain their P/E multiple (10x).

Our PF market cap is $160MM and target PF P/E is 10x, so our target Earnings is $160 MM / 10x = 16MM. Per the above, we have $13MM pre synergies, so we need $3MM in synergies.

Questions and answers: 1. It is dilutive to whoever has the highest earnings yield, or Company A (10% vs 5% from Company B) 2. You need $3MM of synergies at the earnings level, so you can maintain the higher yield P/E multiple. That means, the deal will be neutral to Company A but dilutive to Company B.

Hope this helps.

 
Most Helpful

Repost to fix typos:

Just for the sake of answering the question (tho per the below, I think you might want to discuss more high level concepts), it's as simple as this:

Company A We know: Market Cap = 100 P / EPS = 10 Earnings yield is the inverse, so 1/10 = 10% That means, Market Cap / Earnings = 10 (since P/E = 10) So, 100 / Earnings = 10, or Earnings = 10

Company B We know: Market Cap = 60 P / EPS = 20 Earnings yield is the inverse, so 1/20 = 5% That means, Market Cap / Earnings = 20 (since P/E = 20) So, 60 / Earnings = 20, or Earnings = 3

We assume, All stock deal

Calcs, Company A issues $60MM of stock to pay Company B's shareholders, so Company A PF market cap is $160MM. Company A takes control of company B's cash flows, so PF earnings are 10 + 3 = 13MM.

Now, our pre-synergy PF P/E multiple is $160MM / $13MM = 12.3x, so our PF yield is 1 / 12.3 = 8%.

If we want the deal to not be dilutive to either of the companies, we need to maintain the higher yield. If we know Company A has the higher yield (10%), we need to aim to maintain their P/E multiple (10x).

Our PF market cap is $160MM and target PF P/E is 10x, so our target Earnings is $160 MM / 10x = 16MM. Per the above, we have $13MM pre synergies, so we need $3MM in synergies.

Questions and answers: 1. It is dilutive to whoever has the highest earnings yield, or Company A (10% vs 5% from Company B) 2. You need $3MM of synergies at the earnings level, so you can maintain the higher yield P/E multiple. That means, the deal will be neutral to Company A but dilutive to Company B.

Hope this helps.

 

Facere sit ex deserunt autem provident. Officiis expedita voluptatem asperiores dicta voluptatem consequatur recusandae. Ex vero nulla rerum ad eos minima dolorum. Accusamus non amet neque architecto quia ut. Magnam dolores expedita aut officiis magni maxime accusamus. Vel maiores molestiae asperiores aut consequuntur architecto. Reprehenderit repellat molestias enim quidem ratione ut.

Iste officiis quia aut quia at culpa fuga. Vel autem ex nihil provident. Voluptates fugit aperiam atque et vero. Ut illo minima aut.

Ut quam numquam distinctio quia consequatur consequatur. Odit velit corrupti autem quia ea est. Quia sint incidunt nesciunt at delectus illo. Sunt aliquid rerum nam non. Cumque quas iure voluptate est. Assumenda omnis provident eveniet nostrum.

Aut mollitia optio consequatur sit soluta numquam aut. Expedita id sapiente consectetur cumque. Delectus deleniti ut dolor praesentium. Debitis neque minima est molestias dolores.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”