Before we hear about the latest M&A, joint venture, IPO or fundraising deal in the news, every transaction is clouded in secrecy. So much so that a special code name is used when referring to each deal.
Early mornings. Late nights. Lots of running around in between... The life of running a startup!
If you are about to start work on an M&A, IPO or fundraising deal, you’re also about to come across virtual data rooms (VDRs).
Now, you’re probably thinking, ‘why should I pay for a VDR when platforms like Dropbox or Google Drive let me do something similar, but for free?’
A Virtual Data Room is very different to a Dropbox or Google Drive. Here are 5 instances where you always should consider a VDR:
1) You’re sharing highly sensitive information and need 100% security
VDRs were built for enterprises to store and share confidential information about a transaction. Dropbox was built for people to quickly share photos of their pets and latest holiday with their friends.
The result is that security is paramount to data room providers.
VDRs have international third-party security certificates and data centers that are physically secured by biometric access and monitored 24/7. In comparison, Dropbox’s security has been breached on a number of occasions.
Furthermore, VDRs allow you to revoke access to a document even after a user has opened that same document. You can also keep all files (regardless of their format) protected with passwords, personalised watermarks and customisable NDAs. Dropbox only lets you password protect your links.
Although the data is hard to pin down, the body of research suggests that around half of mergers and acquisitions fail and fail to add any value. While this might make uncomfortable reading for any company about to undergo the M&A process, it is a timely reminder of the importance of the due diligence process and undergoing a thorough audit and evaluation process before anything is signed.
Every M&A transaction faces unique challenges, depending on the nature of the transaction itself, participants involved and where they are located, budget, or who has access to what documentation to name just a few. And just as every deal is different, there is a marketplace full of virtual data room providers claiming to make the process easier.
Some companies may have a list of requirements for a data room provider, but for others it can be difficult to know which vendor offers the type of service that will be required.
Only around 50% of M&A deals actually go through according to Forbes magazine. The main reason for that high failure rate is that the companies acquired looked better on paper than they actually were. This makes a well executed due diligence process critical, which is only possible if the full M&A life cycle is properly executed.
We are extremely proud with the multiple awards that we have received from ACQ5 and M&A Today. The awards reflect our continued commitment to make our client's experience simple, fast, secure and easy in using a Virtual Dataroom.
