Longer, more complex due diligence timelines are impacting how deals get done—adding pressure, risk, and cost. To help you understand what’s driving these shifts, we surveyed 150 senior executives at boutique, mid-sized, and large U.S. investment banks with up to $1 billion in AUM.

With insights from across the U.S. investment banking landscape, this report offers a comprehensive view of the major challenges and trends impacting M&A due diligence.

Key findings:

• Final VDR costs can vary widely. VDRs are an essential tool when it comes to smooth and efficient M&A due diligence. Respondents indicate that prices can vary widely with pricing models being a possible source of fluctuation (e.g., fee based on user or data volume).
• Complexity and timelines. Almost three-quarters (73%) expect the M&A due diligence process to become more complex over the next 12 – 24 months, including 15% who expect it to become much more complex. One in five respondents report that due diligence timelines have extended over the past two years. Among this cohort, 57% say an additional one to three months has been added to the process, indicating that material delays are surfacing.
• Technology and cybersecurity. Technology due diligence has pulled decisively ahead of all other domains: 47% of respondents say this has been their main priority over the past 12 months and 51% now say it is the single most burdensome element of the entire review. 84% anticipate increased scrutiny of cybersecurity due diligence in the coming 12 – 24 months, with 43% expecting significantly greater scrutiny, reflecting the rising regulatory and commercial sensitivity around cyber resilience.

This report is published in association with SRS Acquiom