Where next for deals and due diligence in 2025?

Sponsored by A WORD FROM IDEALS Where next for deals and due diligence in 2025? After a period of subdued M&A activity, there is optimism that dealmakers should get ready for a busy year ahead. Deven Monga VP of sales for strategic accounts, We spoke to Sabine Schilg and Deven Monga from Ideals North America VDR, which supports thousands of global M&A deals each Ideals VDR year, to understand how their clients are preparing for A former investment banker, Deven is now a 2025 and the trends that are impacting due diligence. results-driven sales leader with more than 12 years of experience leading sales teams in How do you sum up the M&A market in 2024? What were the software-as-a-service, AI, and financial your biggest takeaways? technology (fintech) spaces. Deven: 2024 was defined by resilience amid uncertainty. Sabine Schilg Deal flow remained steady for our clients, particularly in the VP of customer success middle market, despite challenges such as higher interest Ideals VDR rates, inflation concerns, and geopolitical tensions. Strategic Sabine is an experienced business leader and acquirers and PE firms focused on value-driven transactions, board member, with an extensive background emphasizing synergies and operational improvements. in M&A. She has excelled in leading acquired technology startups and delivering A key takeaway for our customers has been the growing multimillion-dollar growth. importance of speed and efficiency as dealmakers seek to navigate complex economic conditions while Sabine: We know investors have plenty of money in the bank remaining competitive. to drive moderate growth this year. PE and VC funds have more than $2.5 trillion waiting to be deployed. Sabine: After a sluggish year, customer activity is already picking up in purposeful AI, life sciences, and in particular, If conditions remain positive, I would expect to see a further renewable energy. rebound as we move into the second half of the year. However, the threats of trade tariffs and the overheated It shows, as so often, that inflation and political uncertainties equity market should be monitored closely. along with leadership changes influence M&A tremendously. However, with a stabilization of interest rates and the US Which regulatory or policy changes related to M&A are you elections behind us, our customers are optimistic about deal watching most closely? activity in 2025. Deven: Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying around two key Looking at the year ahead, how do you expect the market areas, which only emphasizes the importance of due diligence to develop? and compliance. Deven: Cautious optimism should define the year ahead. If Firstly, the US government is imposing heightened oversight the US economy stays strong and we see further interest on foreign investments, especially in critical infrastructure, rate cuts, then dealmaking activity should rebound. David technology, and data-sensitive sectors. Committee on Foreign Solomon from Goldman Sachs recently said he expects deal Investment in the US (CFIUS) reviews have lengthened activity to potentially exceed 10-year averages in 2025. timelines and introduced additional complexity to cross- border deals. Middle-market transactions will likely continue to dominate, and I anticipate we will see an increase in carve-outs and More broadly, we are continuing to see the US Federal Trade divestitures as companies look to streamline operations and Commission and the US Department of Justice take an focus on core business areas. aggressive stance on mergers and acquisitions, particularly 21 2024 ANNUAL GLOBAL M&A REPORT A WORD FROM IDEALS