Video
Data-Driven Challenges in Merger Investigations
Already in 2021, there has been a marked increase in global M&A deals driven by a returned confidence in market recovery and new opportunities arising out of the rapid digitalisation and transformation efforts many businesses have undertaken, in part, because of covid-19. These rapid changes in conjunction with recent litigation arising from M&A deals highlight the need for buyers to perform comprehensive due diligence exercises. Moreover, merger reviews undertaken by antitrust agencies, particularly in the EU, UK and the US, are increasingly relying on internal documents to assess future anti-competitive behaviour. These trends are placing a more significant onus on transacting parties and their outside counsel to plan ahead of a potential M&A deal.
During this webinar, we discuss several emerging data-driven challenges that organisations should consider when evaluating the legal implications of a proposed M&A deal and developing a strategy for responding to antitrust agencies during the merger review process, including:
- Increasing need to assess cybersecurity and data privacy risks and liabilities as part of a due diligence exercise;
- Importance of working closely with in-house counsel and IT/HR functions to ensure the organisation is merger-ready;
- Responding to the increasingly broad and time-sensitive internal document requests issued by antitrust agencies;
- Complexities arising from transatlantic and other cross-border investigations; and
- Challenges associated with data remediation exercises resulting from a divestiture or carve-out.