111.   Executives at the two companies foresaw significant cost savings.

112.   Even after its processing facilities began operations, it was never able to fully realize those cost savings.

113.   First Union Corp. expects cost savings from its purchase of Signet Banking Corp. will be higher than expected, chief financial officer Robert Atwood said.

114.   Fleet, however, argues that cost savings and post-merger market dominance justify the price.

115.   For drugmakers, the drive to combine is fueled by the need to wring out cost savings and dominate a still fragmented market for their drugs.

116.   For one thing, declining margins are forcing drug companies to merge to seek cost savings, analysts say.

117.   For a retailer, this format offers big cost savings.

118.   For these types of analyses, Van Etten said, the farm also represents significant cost savings.

119.   Fred Carr of Penobscot Group agrees there is some value in combining big REITs, mostly through limited cost savings.

120.   Further, the cost savings that typically accrue can be used by districts for educational purposes, like reducing class sizes or increasing teacher pay.