FAQ's
 
 

In M&A, a traditional data room is a physical and secure location, storing files and documentation. It's often located in the vendor’s office or their lawyer's office. All deal teams use this space to securely inspect and review documents.

A virtual data room (VDR) is an online environment that enables the secure sharing of highly confidential files from one organisation to multiple organisations. 

As VDRs are normally used during transactions, users are anyone and everyone in the deal-making community. Typically, this means corporations, lawyers and investors. 

File-sharing solutions such as Box and Dropbox are a great, cost-effective way to share information. However, they are not built specifically for deal making, meaning that they do not offer critical features such as Q&A and custom reporting. Nor do they offer the robust security safeguards that most VDRs have. 

Where Box and Dropbox are completely self-service, VDR providers will have a Customer Services team available 24/7/365 to provide support whenever you need it. 

This is difficult to answer as there are a lot of variables to consider. It will depend on how long you need a data room for and the amount of data you need to store in it. As a guideline, you can expect to pay a minimum of about £1,500 for a small deal that takes three to six months.

There are a lot to choose from, so selecting one can feel like a bit of a challenge. The best way to find out what you’ll be getting is to ask these sorts of questions:

• How senior is the team I get to work with? Will I be passed over to junior members of staff as soon as I’ve signed the contract?
• What sort of clients are you working with? How high a priority will I be compared to them?
• How good is your Customer Services team? Will I be able to contact someone 24/7?
• Will I get a dedicated project manager, or be moved around depending on what time I contact you?
• What languages do your Customer Services team speak? Is your data room available in multiple languages?
• Where are your servers located? How are they protected?
• Are you GDPR compliant? Are you prepared for Brexit?
• What safeguards are in place to ensure I don’t send the wrong things to the wrong people?
• What’s included in the price? Will you charge as soon as I start using a VDR or only when it is accessed by external users? 

And never underestimate the importance of liking the team. When your deal’s underway, you’ll be thankful for choosing a provider you get along with.

In the M&A process, due diligence allows the buyer party to assess relevant information, for example financial records and contracts. It refers to the research prior to agreeing to a financial transaction with another party.

M&A will create a lot of questions from all stakeholders.  A VDR makes the process easy to handle as all questions can be managed in one secure place. This not only cuts out cumbersome and costly methods of managing Excel files, version controls and emails, but also…  Erase feature!

Our data rooms also offer a redaction tool which easily helps you control sensitive data.  

Data rooms or (VDRs) are cloud-based, highly secure storage centres used for filing and sharing confidential information. Companies use them to share financial transactions, real estate or medical research and so on.

A data room (VDR) offers extensive security features. In a VDR you can control who sees specific information, at what time and track viewing the time. Confidential and sensitive information stays secure and within your control.

All M&A transactions require confidential file sharing.  A data room can be part of the due diligence process as they provide a secure space for buyers, seller and legal teams.