The prize for a successful merger would be significant: an Irish based, world-scale food company.

But one of the biggest obstacles to a successful merger may not be technical, but human.

Q. You have said that the characteristics of a successful merger tend to vary from one industry to the next.

Similar businesses and cultures made this a highly successful merger.

Economy of scale is a big factor; the most successful mergers are expected to slash costs by 25 to 55 percent.

Brick is a former American band that created a successful merger of funk and jazz in the 1970s.

It is considered as one of the most successful mergers in the history of Pakistan.

A successful merger could create a defence company with estimated sales of £800m.

His successful merger of minor revolutionary groups to a single larger party provided a better base for all those who shared the same ideals.

As much as anything, successful mergers depend upon the chief executive.