Erin Gillman

This article is part of Bain's 2026 M&A Report. As artificial intelligence becomes an inevitable fact of life in every industry, the more visible its powers become to disrupt businesses. Nowhere is that more evident than in enterprise software. As a capability, the emerging technology now largely determines which players can compete in any given market.

This article is part of Bain's 2025 M&A Report. The technology industry’s appetite for growth-oriented scope deals has been clear. But higher interest rates and changes in how tech companies are valued have now dramatically altered the rules of the game for tech scope deals, and companies need to change their approach to synergies. Debt covenants and a focus on margins and growth (vs.

This article is part of Bain's 2024 M&A Report. While many a tech acquisition starts with lofty aspirations for groundbreaking new capabilities and growth that can be unlocked by combining the tech from the target with the acquirer’s portfolio, rarely do these product synergies materialize. Companies may dutifully write product synergies into the deal thesis, but they then typically fail to provide the funding and rigorous planning required to make them happen.