What factors can lead to the dilution of EPS in an acquisition?

A number of factors can cause an acquisition to be dilutive to the acquiror’s earnings per share (EPS), including: (1) the target has negative net income, (2) the target’s Price/Earnings ratio is greater than the acquiror’s, (3) the transaction creates a significant amount of intangible assets that must be amortized going forward, (4) increased interest expense due to new debt used to finance the transaction, (5) decreased interest income due to less cash on the balance sheet if cash is used to finance the transaction and (6) low or negative synergies.