The traditional M&A playbook is generally thought of as a set of best practices that guides an organization through the complexity of M&A. However, something we all know: every M&A deal is totally unique with the kind of gotchas capable of challenging even the most experienced professional.

A major problem is that M&A is very traditional in its approach. These days M&A is very much about business model change. Whether it’s about new technologies, channels to market or capabilities, the purpose of M&A today is very different to the past. Since the purpose of M&A has changed, the process of M&A must change too.

It is well recognized that data rooms are indispensable in the M&A process.

One of the aspects of M&A science still missing in many companies is the lack of focus on growth capabilities.

When selling your business, there are several advantages to having due diligence documents prepared in advance.

When buying a business, the decision whether to structure the transaction as an asset purchase or a purchase of common stock is an extremely important consideration. On the surface, many company acquisitions appear to be straight common equity purchases until further investigation reveals that the buyer has just purchased the target’s assets and selected liabilities.

Undoubtedly, Human Resources deserves a seat at the M&A table. As more practitioners are taking culture, the change curve, employee satisfaction (a satisfied employee equals a productive employee), and employee expertise into account during deals, HR’s role continues to grow.

It is not uncommon for M&A practitioners or business players to think of divestitures as being similar to acquisitions.

In much the same way that buyers of businesses need to conduct due diligence to extract maximum value from transactions, sellers can maximize the value they gain from selling their business through conducting sell-side due diligence. Below, we have together a list of steps to be followed in chronological order.

There is a rich and growing literature on mergers and acquisitions.

Once the buyer and seller have reached an agreement in principle, it’s time for the buyer to draft the letter of intent (LOI)

Several enormous M&A deals occurred in 2019. Although the volume of total mergers and acquisitions decreased somewhat as to previous years, the average deal size has substantially increased. 

One-off costs are regularly overlooked in the M&A process. pre-transaction costs’ and ‘post-transaction costs’ is testament to this.

There are a number of reasons why M&A deals and M&A integrations fail, and educating yourself and your team on why they fail can help prevent this from happening or at least from happening as frequently. 

Mergers and acquisitions are some of the most difficult maneuvers to pull off in business. From making sure that the company cultures are compatible with each other, to sorting out the leadership structure of one’s new enterprise, it seems there’s no end to the tasks that must be completed.

With the beginning of the year balance sheet showing a healthy cash balance, you may be encouraged to seek out an acquisition in the coming months.But there’s more than one way to fund an acquisition than simply tapping company funds.

Earlier this year, in a piece on Disney’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob Iger, CNBC confidently proclaimed that Iger had successfully completed “one of the most remarkable revitalizations of any iconic American brand.”

As soon as you don’t have a good answer to the question ‘why are we doing this?’ the merger or acquisition has just run into its first problem and the chances of others arising are already higher as a direct consequence. A good way to avoid this happening is to go back to basics. Establish what you want and whether M&A is even the way to go about it achieving it. 

When important M&A transactions occur, it can have a major impact on markets and stock prices...

We have seen over the last decade how technology has disrupted how information is stored and shared during the various stages of the M&A lifecycle. Some of these disruptions have also led to improved and new ideas surrounding workflow. 

In the typical business plan, the SWOT analysis is little more than an afterthought, hidden away at the back of the document...

Before you do anything, there has to be a good ‘why'.What motivates you to buy a company?

Before deciding to sell a business without an investment bank, it’s useful to understand the role that the banker plays when representing a seller in a transaction.

M&A is full of risks and surprises. Here are five crucial steps to take which help to avoid M&A transaction risks.

Public companies are traded on the stock market, while private companies are not, therefore, private equity refers to investments based on the capital that is not public.

M&A transactions are complicated and meticulous, and M&A teams are often juggling more than one transaction at a time.

Making a deal can often be very attractive, with senior leadership imaging all of the growth opportunities that could be derived from making a deal. Sometimes people get infected with a disease called deal fever. View this guide on deal fever as a prescription of sorts, so the disease can be treated before you even catch it.

A thorough investigation into, and understanding of, a company during due diligence is essential to a deal’s success - whether you are buying a small business or a larger corporation. However, it is no secret that it can be hard to keep your head above water during diligence. 

DealRoom was announced number 25 of the top 50 B2B technology companies in Chicago

A vertical merger is one form of transaction that holds a lot of strategic value for organizations looking to grow their presents in the marketplace. But what is a vertical merger and how do organizations decide to conduct these unique transactions?

Due diligence is defined as the research and analysis of a company or organization done in preparation for a business transaction..

M&A refers to the combining of two companies - the buy-side, or the acquirer, and the sell-side, or the target. More specifically, a merger is combining the buy-side and the sell-side into one company...

M&A transactions are intricate and involve a lot of moving parts. Deal pipeline management helps teams keep track of where deals are in their lifecycle, what deals are coming up, and any areas of concern.

Equity research sell-side is related to investment banking, though it often does not get the same amount of attention. The research analysts relay information to the investment banks’ sales-forces and executives. We will discuss additional differences between these two areas in the career section below. 

In data rooms, the Q&A feature creates a way for users to ask questions regarding the folders and documents they have been given access to, without leaving the platform.

Investment bankers are a key part of mergers and acquisitions because they work to determine the appropriate value of the companies involved in the merger or acquisition. In this case, the banker represents either the sell side or the buy side. However, investment bankers also participate in deal sourcing where they will research the market and initiate a conversation with companies, proposing potential deals

Whether you are on your commute to work, at the gym, or just relaxing, podcasts are a great way to educate yourself and stay informed about the latest happenings and trends in the finance industry, such as corporate development. 

Merger and acquisition deals make the world go round and with time, deal values and complexities continue to increase. US companies have always been prone to M&A deals, and here are some of the largest M&A deals in our history.

Data room users tend to be busy people. They need their virtual data room to be straightforward, innovative, and easy to manage. Luckily, data rooms typically don’t take long to open. No matter which provider you use, you will need to follow these simple steps in order for your virtual data room to be active.

Podcasts are a unique and convenient way to stay informed about the latest happenings in the investment banking industry. Let’s take a look at the 10 best investment banking podcasts out there.Here's a quick look at the best investment banking podcasts.

Podcasts are a unique and convenient way to stay informed about the latest happenings in the financial world. Let’s have a look at the 10 best private equity podcasts available.

Deal software is designed to assist teams in the initiation, planning, execution, and closure of deals. Deal management software also helps teams manage diligence, integration, and deal pipelines.

With any business, keeping great records and staying organized is essential for success. Thanks to virtual data rooms, teams now have an easier way to store and access organized data. With a virtual data room index, you can have every document you need neatly organized and just a click away.

Corporate development teams work day in and day out building relationships and mastering a cadence of communication in order to favorably position themselves to prospective sellers. In this article, we will explore how the best corporate development teams identify their targets, move past “gatekeepers” to build relationships with sellers...

The legwork behind VDR shopping is of the utmost importance, and while it takes a bit of time, it does not have to be complicated and will surely yield positive outcomes for your business and its stakeholders. Here, we simplify and fortify the process of selecting a virtual data room.

From finance, to mergers and acquisitions, real estate, healthcare and more, VDRs have become a staple in how people all over the world gather and share information. Consequently, more VDR use means more VDRs are popping up on the market and finding the right one can be difficult- especially with the escalating number of fake reviews being placed to promote specific VDRs.

Thanks to virtual data rooms and the advances in technology, the document related portion of an M&A transaction is significantly more simplified. The due diligence process can now be performed in less time and for less money. With so many different VDR options available, it’s essential to look at the strengths and weaknesses of various providers.

Legal due diligence is an examination into a business by re-viewing documents and interviewing employees. Legal due diligence is completed when a company or interested party is looking to buy or invest in a business.

Podcasts are a fun and convenient way to stay informed about the latest happenings in the financial world. Let’s have a look at the 10 best M&A podcasts available.

Virtual data rooms designed with M&A in mind allow stakeholders to work more collaboratively, effectively, and efficiently throughout the lifecycle of a deal.

Virtual Data Rooms (or VDRs) are secure, cloud-based storage systems for confidential information. While they can be utilized for almost any data-sensitive application...

A virtual data room is a cloud-based platform designed to organize and share data. And more modern VDRs help make the due diligence process smoother and more efficient.

Virtual data rooms are the best place to store information online in a safe location. They not only speed up the due diligence process, but also help teams stay organized while sharing data and files.

Virtual data rooms have become increasingly popular over the past few years and the market doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Currently, one of the most underrated and poorly executed aspects of mergers and acquisitions is change management. However, what good acquirers realize is that people are their biggest assets because...

Free virtual data rooms may seem like an attractive option, especially to smaller companies. But here are the reasons teams should steer away from free virtual data room providers.

Over the last 15 years, Virtual Data Rooms (VDRs) have become one of the fastest growing and most powerful tools in computing software. They have stripped away all roadblocks between place, time and location, by bringing people together all over the world. The market for VDRs is at a steady increase and predicted to keep growing.

It goes without saying, the business landscape has changed greatly over the last two decades, but integration strategy, planning, and execution remain in the 1990s because they are all too linear in a world that is constantly changing. The takeaway here is value creation has shifted.

Deal management is the organization and processes behind deal workflows, that includes strategies, team members’ roles, software and technology, and more. Deal management is each and every step that gets a deal through the full lifecycle, from day one to close.

By the time many deals get to the integration phase, team burnout and fatigue, along with all of the moving pieces of two companies coming together, can create some murky, complicated waters. Here are four common integration problems facing M&A practitioners.

Private equity vs. investment banking, which is better? These are age old financial questions that are dependent on the individual circumstances of the investor. The first thing to understand, though, is that both investment banks and private equity firms have their sights set on the same goal: maximizing profits for investors. But they do so from different directions.

Effective deal tracking is no easy task. It requires diligence and the proper tools to keep everything in order and flowing in the right direction. You have to delegate and communicate with the right people, all while conducting due diligence and managing different personalities and operations.

DealRoom's CEO and Founder, Kison Patel, was recently accepted into Forbes Technology Council

All aspects of the M&A lifecycle require employees to work in teams. The efficiency of these teams greatly influences the value extracted from the deal. There are two hundred and fifty characteristics of work teams that correlate to higher performance, but there are two primary ones that researchers have discovered lead to considerably higher, measurable performance.

DealRoom's CEO and Founder recently presented on Agile M&A at the 2019 Silicon Valley Scrum(mit)

These DealRoom software help guides review the requests, documents, groups, and analytics tabs in detail.

M&A professionals and stakeholders deserve a platform designed for their needs and specific pain points. While traditional CRM software can be useful to other industries, the high-pressure, complex and ever-changing nature of the M&A industry calls for something more advanced and targeted.

SAFe is a framework for businesses that focuses on navigating “transformation challenges” in ways that allow for improved quality, efficiency, productivity, and employee satisfaction. SAFe can be used to help integrate multiple legacy companies at once.

Typical VDR providers all offer the same thing and they have been the go to solution for data storage for years. But do they create more problems than they solve and is there a better process out there?

Virtual data rooms can cost anywhere between $500 and $10,000. As data room evolve with new innovative technologies, are you left paying too much?‍‍

Innovating the M&A due diligence process has been slow moving. However, technology trends are evolving and creating deals that are more secure, successful and efficient. ‍

Without doubt, the single greatest barrier to the adoption of new IT tools is inertia. In many companies, employees have been using the same internal tools for many years.

DealRoom helps teams manage every part of due diligence from start to finish. Your data storage, diligence tracking, and communication tools are all on one integrated platform.

Agile project management methodologies are more often embraced by the IT and manufacturing sectors than by Corporate Development teams. Further helping Agile’s cause in these disciplines is that their own products are developed in an Agile-like manner. This does not mean, however, that Agile’s principles cannot be applied to Corporate Development and the world of M&A and its stakeholders.

Data storage is everything. Most businesses are made up of information in the form of documents, graphics, emails, presentations, CRMs, spreadsheets and more. The applications that help a business run smoothly require copious amounts of storage.

Culture plays a critical role in deal speed and Agile methodologies can help. Moving away from a predetermined plan or chain of events and becoming more flexible, adaptive to change, and small-task oriented will help all stakeholders navigate the waters of M&A more effectively, saving both time and energy...and ultimately, money.

M&A is a meticulous business. It requires a thorough process, swift decision making, and strategic planning. During diligence, information that is highly confidential is gathered, which requires the utmost security and control.

Whether you are shopping for due diligence software for M&A or other data sensitive realms, there are four central areas to consider: security, ease of use, cost, and the opinions of industry insiders.

Our objective is to provide small, practical steps that can help executives as they work to introduce Agile into the workplace and disrupt the common Waterfall approach.

In business terms, due diligence is the research and analysis of a company or organization done in preparation for a business transaction, such as a potential acquirer evaluates a target company and its assets.

Employee productivity is at the forefront of all business leaders’ minds, but what happens when working more doesn’t equate to being more productive?

In any deal, whether buy-side or sell-side, or if it involves an investment bank, private equity firm, or corporate development business, there are a lot of necessary steps to take. There are many hands involved, confidential information shared, and hard decisions to make.

As the capabilities of IT deployments and infrastructures evolve, so are the features that virtual data room providers offer.

Let’s be frank: change management is often the neglected child of the M&A family. Some might even view change management as trivial when compared with other burdensome tasks of M&A; however, this could not be further from the truth. In fact, poor practices related to change management have long been the achilles heel of mergers and acquisitions.

Most C-suite executives turn to mergers and acquisitions to jump-start growth or for financial gain, but without these clear systems in place deals often (70% of the time) fail - whether during negotiation, diligence, or integration.

The process of due diligence is often classified as chaotic, stressful, and fast-paced and, historically, nothing drastic has been done to disrupt the way this procedure is approached. We now know, however, Agile methodologies for M&A practitioners have proven to improve diligence speed and quality.

Unorganized communication is a common issue during due diligence. But it doesn't have to be. With the right project management software, communication can be efficient and organized.

It is predicted that in the next year we will see not only an increase in mergers and acquisitions, but also an increase in the size of these business deals. With more and larger deals taking place, organizations are becoming necessarily smarter about how to navigate the process of M&A.

Typically when you hire an investment bank your looking at their track record, industry expertise, relationships with buyers, maybe even a culture fit. The following distinguish the difference between just good and great investment banks.

M&A deals can overwhelm buyers & sellers, burying them in an avalanche of paper, repeat requests, & wait-time. However, with efficiency & effectiveness at its core, DealRoom provides a smarter approach to the complex practice of M&A.

Broken promises and technology that does not live up to the marketing hype are just two results of poorly chosen technology. The decision-making process is now more complex than ever since organizations want representation of all the stakeholders that will either use or benefit from the technology.

Agile M&A practices transform M&A into a simplified, efficient set of processes. Once a business adapts Agile M&A practices, the company can transform into an agile, data-driven enterprise without sacrificing quality or taking on additional risk.

Are you an “old school” M&A practitioner? Being “old school” means that maybe you are holding on to traditional practices, because they work for you. These methods are tried and true, and have been proven over the years. However, there are many new ways in which to approach the M&A process.

Agile M&A promises to identify and eliminate waste that otherwise contributes to poor customer service, lost business, higher business costs and lost employee productivity.

Typical project management tools are not efficient.

Although Agile is considered to have originated and have specific application to the technology world, it did not originate in IT.

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