> Well, his argument is that he can remove inefficiencies in the combined company.

Sigh. The synergy argument, once again.

While historically most mergers don't work out particularly well, I'm absolutely sure this time will be different.

"How do you make money? Spinoffs, split-ups, liquidations, mergers and acquisitions." - Mario Gabelli

Just sample from these with replacement sufficiently many times and you're all set. At the very least, you'll owe people so much money that they'll have a massive interest in helping you.