So, we’ve finally reached that point in the mergers and acquisitions cycle when bidders have to make increasingly audacious statements about the synergies they can extract from their megadeals.

Bristol-Myers Squibb claims it can achieve $2.5bn in cost savings by 2022 from its takeover of Celgene, the biotech firm for which it is paying $90bn, including debt. Those equate to around a sixth of the combined operating expenses of the two companies.