Forrester Trends Whitepaper

A Forrester Consulting Thought Leadership Paper Commissioned By IntraLinks
Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A

Changing M&A Environment
M&A Management Tools The Missing Link To Institutionalize M&A
May 2010
Forrester Consulting
Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment
Table Of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................................2
The M&A Management Tools Market Is Still Nascent ...........................................................................................................................3
Trends And Challenges In A Changing M&A Environment ................................................................................................................4
Criteria For Successful Corporate M&A ......................................................................................................................................................8
Technology Use And Satisfaction In M&A .............................................................................................................................................. 12
Capabilities Of The Next-Generation M&A Management Tool ....................................................................................................... 15
Key Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Appendix A: Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................................ 19
Appendix B: Demographics .......................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Appendix C: Supplemental Material .......................................................................................................................................................... 22
Appendix D: Endnotes ................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
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Page 1
Executive Summary
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) represent a key vehicle to obtain growth for many companies. Given the importance
of M&A and the complex challenges that organizations face in their M&A endeavors, it is surprising that the approach
to M&A is so unstructured. Integrated technologies can transform an unstructured process by facilitating all
dimensions of the M&A process including defining strategy, organizing a deal, and executing a transaction.
In March 2010, IntraLinks commissioned Forrester Consulting to analyze M&A trends, challenges, technology use, and
the satisfaction associated with the use of those tools. The objective was to identify the criteria for successful, structured
processes and the capabilities required by next-generation M&A management tools. For this purpose, Forrester
Consulting conducted an online survey with 219 M&A professionals from corporations and advisory firms worldwide.
Key Findings
Forresters study yielded six key findings:
The global economic recession has fundamentally changed M&A. The recession led to a significant drop in
global M&A activity while changing the underlying approach to conducting transactions. M&A professionals are
demanding more dedicated structure and process in an environment that has become increasingly volatile.
The pre-deal phase is the most challenging to manage. This is true for M&A professionals on both the buy and
sell side. Effectively and efficiently gathering and assessing information about buyers and sellers is a major
impediment to success.
Performance measurement, collaboration, and communication are key issues. M&A management challenges
include effectively measuring performance in terms of costs and synergies, as well as ensuring effective and
efficient collaboration and communication with both internal and external parties.
A successful M&A system encompasses four functional components. A higher M&A competence is strongly
correlated to improvements in transaction activities in terms of quality and quantity. Four components evolve in
this context to institutionalize a successful M&A system required for a strong competence: strategy, organization,
process, and technology.
Technology use and satisfaction differ across deal phase and company types. Financial content platforms and
virtual deal rooms (VDRs) dominate the pre-deal and transaction phases. In the integration and operation
phases, generic project management software and collaboration solutions are seeing the highest use. However,
the satisfaction scores show room for improvement for all technology solutions.
The next-generation M&A management tool has a broad and integrated set of capabilities. Deal professionals
require a broad and integrated set of capabilities in an M&A management tool. Project management and
collaboration capabilities are the top priority, followed by email management, workflow management, business
intelligence and analytics, and content and market data capabilities.
Page 2
The M&A Management Tools Market Is Still Nascent

While growth through M&A is a key priority for many companies, a structured and repeatable approach for managing
these transactions is frequently missing. Today, most operational processes are managed by dedicated technologies
such as finance and accounting packages, enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management
(CRM), and supply chain management (SCM). However, for the M&A process, the market for dedicated solutions is
still nascent. M&A professionals from corporations and advisory firms are primarily leveraging generic point solutions
to track, monitor, and facilitate their transactions or projects.1 Over the past couple of years, however, Web-based
solutions have evolved to specifically support the complex challenges within the M&A process. Key findings of
Forresters research into this market are:
Virtual deal rooms (VDRs) and M&A project management tools (PMTs) are the two subsets of an emerging
market. The M&A tools market is framed by two categories of technologies. On one hand, secure Web-based
virtual deal rooms were introduced to complement or replace the physical paper-based deal rooms used to
conduct due diligence. However, a VDR is also often used as a central repository for secure document
management and information exchange between internal and external stakeholders. On the other hand, PMT
solutions track and monitor activities throughout the M&A process primarily for task and progress reporting in
the integration phase.2
Adoption of dedicated M&A tools primarily depends on deal size and activity. In 2009, Forrester surveyed 17
M&A tool providers to size and forecast the M&A tools market. The VDR market was $378 million, and the PMT
market was $29 million. Forrester estimates that the total market will reach nearly $1 billion by 2013 at a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29%. Adoption of tools depends primarily on deal size and activity.
The more complex the deal is, the higher the requirement is to leverage dedicated tools. Highest adoption exists
for large and mega deals (with values of more than $1 billion) at 80% to 90%. However, these make up just
approximately 3% of overall deal volume. Predominant buyers of tools are large corporations, followed by
investment banks and legal firms. From a geographic perspective, the US leads in terms of adoption, followed by
Western Europe and Asia Pacific.3 Forrester identified four profiles of buyers depending on deal frequency and
deal complexity (see Figure 1).
Innovation is the key to unlocking the full potential of this market. M&A tools are only scratching the surface
of their potential. The markets of VDR and PMT are already commoditizing, as more players want to grab share
of a fast-growing market. While the value of using VDRs is apparent for most companies, clients are struggling to
see the value of PMTs. These are being used primarily by M&A departments at large corporations and consulting
firms for their integration services with clients. Enabling M&A professionals (at both corporations and advisory
firms) in supporting and executing their full M&A life cycles remains a white space in the market. This pushes all
types of providers to innovate new solutions and capabilities over the next few years to become an inevitable part
of the M&A process.
Page 3
Figure 1
Buyer Profiles For M&A Management Tools
High
There is long-term tool deployment. The company frequently buys
companies of all sizes. Normally, the company has a strong market presence.
It has a dedicated M&A practice in place.
Deal
frequency
Low
Deployment
of tool isnt
necessarily
needed.
The company
primarily
works with
external
advisors.
The company will consider longterm deployment, due to higher deal

complexity and medium deal
frequency.
There is deal-based tool

deployment. The company uses tools
just for the length of the dea l. Higher deal
complexity leads to a higher need
for dedicated tools.
Deal complexity
High
Source: The Emerging M&A Management Tools Market, Forrester Research, Inc., September 9, 2008
Trends And Challenges In A Changing M&A Environment

The global economic recession led to a significant drop in M&A activity, nearly 30%, in 2009. Limited access to cash
and rising uncertainty across markets made it extremely difficult to engage in these transactions. As companies have
become more wary of the challenges and risks associated with investments and divestments, they realize the need to
improve their competence to better manage the eclectic challenges along the M&A life cycle in times of volatility. Still,
too many companies handle M&A rather opportunistically and leverage primarily external advisors for their deal
activities.4 Patterns of M&A are changing, as our survey confirms: 62% of respondents agreed that the global economic
recession has fundamentally changed the way of conducting these transactions. In terms of other trends and challenges,
the M&A survey revealed that:
Companies understand that they must approach M&A more strategically. The recession changed all major
aspects of M&A behavior (see Figure 2). A greater demand for a strategic approach as well as due diligence
ranked the highest, with 76% of respondents agreeing to both. In addition, more than two-thirds of professionals
said that the M&A department requires greater visibility at the executive management level. This is in line with
Forresters observations that although the M&A function is established at many corporations, its responsibility
and level of influence within the organization is low. Many of the concerns in terms of strategy and the M&A
department are around the organizational structure for M&A, but M&A professionals are also seeing an increase
Page 4
in demand for more process-oriented components such as M&A best practices, deal reviews, knowledge sharing,
and dedicated methodologies and tools.
Identifying appropriate targets/buyers is the top challenge for M&A professionals. The main challenges for
professionals on the buy and sell side pertain to the pre-deal phase. The top challenge for the buy side is the
identification of appropriate acquisition targets (35%). For the sell side, the main struggle is identifying
appropriate buyers (46%) (see Figure 3). Other top challenges on the buy side include due diligence, financial
valuation, and setting and executing the M&A strategy. While executing integration is often cited as a critical
success factor for M&A, it is actually only ranked seventh on our list of 10 in terms of those who find it to be a
challenge. On the sell side, deal professionals primarily struggle with information gathering and evaluation, such
as managing and evaluating indications and bids; gathering asset, company, and market information; and
understanding the context and history of potential buyers.
M&A performance, collaboration, and communication are the key issues in M&A management. In M&A
management in particular, 56% of survey respondents said that their No. 1 challenge is the effective measurement
of performance (see Figure 4). Many companies do not have a systematic approach for cost and synergy
management and are not tracking the impact of M&A in the long term or even midterm. Forrester observations
indicate that only one-fourth to one-third of acquirers are measuring their long-term performance. Just one
review, one year after closing, is a very common approach among companies. Further key challenges pertain to
effective and efficient collaboration and communication between internal and external stakeholders, which is
difficult to manage for more than 40% of respondents.
Page 5
Figure 2
The Recessions Top 10 Effects On M&A Behavior
How has the global economic recession changed M&A behavior?

(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [strongly disagree] to 5 [strongly agree])
More strategic approach to M&A
76%
More due diligence
76%
More demand for greater visibility of M&A department

at executive management level
70%
69%
More demand for retaining M&A best p ractices

More demand for regular deal reviews
Longer deal cycles
62%
More demand for sharing M&A knowledge
58%
More demand for dedicated M&A

methodologies and tools
56%
More divestitures and carve-outs
56%
More demand for formulized M&A processes
56%
Base: 219 M&A professionals

(multiple responses accepted)
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IntraLinks, March 2010
Page 6
64%
Figure 3
Top 10 M&A Buy- And Sell-Side Challenges
What are your top three challenges
within the M&A buy-side process?
Identifying appropriate
acquisition targets
35%
Performing due diligence
29%
Performing financial
valuation
Defining and executing
M&A strategy
Negotiating deals
What are your top three challenges

within the M&A sell-side process?
26%
23%
21%
Managing and evaluating

indications and bids
28%
Gathering asset/company/
market information
28%
Understanding context and history

with potential buyers
28%
Ensuring information security
27%
27%
Tracking market
developments and
competitive information
20%
Distribution, negotiation, markup/editing,

receipt and approval of agreements
Executing integration
20%
Drafting, negotiating and editing

agreements and closing documentation
22%
Financing deals
20%
Buyer outreach and distribution

of marketing materials
21%
Estimating time and costs

associated with deals
15%
Collaborating on and
creating materials
Estimating synergies
associated with deals
15%
Managing questions
and answers

17%
11%

Page 7
46%
Identifying appropriate buyers
Figure 4
Top M&A Management Challenges
How difficult are the following tasks to perform in M&A management?

(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [not at all difficult] to 5 [very difficult])
Ensuring effective measurement of
M&A performance
56%
Ensuring effective collaboration internally

and externally among teams
47%
Ensuring efficient communication internally

and externally among teams
41%
Tracking and deriving M&A best practices
37%
Tracking tasks and progress across teams
35%
Reporting real-time picture of progress
34%
Selecting and allocating appropriate resources
34%
Updating processes and methodologies
32%

Criteria For Successful Corporate M&A

Rising numbers of companies are investigating ways to embed M&A more strategically into their organization.
Executives are particularly interested in how to implement and govern deal processes successfully. How to establish a
successful M&A engine or how to foster an M&A learning organization are the types of questions that many executives
are asking. For 86% of our respondents, the primary value of having higher M&A competence lies in higher synergies
and improved performance; 84% feel that the value is in better integration (see Figure 5). In addition, more than twothirds of professionals agreed that higher M&A competence leads to higher appreciation by internal and external
stakeholders, as well as greater transaction activity. This means that there is a natural correlation between the level of
M&A competence and the quantity and quality of M&A for deal professionals. To build and sustain high M&A
competence, companies must institutionalize M&A. For Forrester, institutionalization is a revolutionary, not an
evolutionary, approach. It requires a companywide change, which needs a systemic rather than a selective approach.
The four components to institutionalize M&A are:
Page 8
Strategy. Any strategy fails without executive commitment. This is especially true for M&A, where strategy must
be a vital part of the overarching corporate strategy still not the case at many companies. Forrester argues that
the lack of strategic approach is one of the main reasons why M&A fails in too many instances. The majority of
the M&A professionals involved in our survey feel that having a defined M&A strategy is the No. 1criterion for
successful corporate M&A (see Figure 6).
Organization. Companies must establish dedicated functions and roles responsible for overseeing and
operationalizing M&A strategy. A dedicated M&A department and executive role is critical for success, according
to, respectively, 63% and 72% of M&A professionals. Just 53% of the surveyed corporations have a dedicated
department, with North American companies slightly ahead of Europe and Asia (see Figure 7). At 57% of the
companies, the number of employees working full-time in these departments is between two and 10. Results of
this study indicate that larger companies (10,000 and more employees) or publicly listed companies tend to have
more departments and personnel than smaller or privately held firms.
Process. Strategy and structure are, however, useless when companies havent defined distinct processes not
only for the M&A project itself, but also for governance and deal management. Forresters observations show that
most companies have a too-narrow process in place that only deals with the tasks for the actual M&A project.
This very focused approach must be replaced by a holistic one that embraces the entire deal life cycle. Dedicated
processes for deriving M&A best practices, performing regular deal reviews, collecting related intellectual
property (IP), or identifying M&A experienced employees either are less sophisticated or just simply do not exist.
However, these elements are critical for successful M&A, as our survey data indicates. Regular performance
reviews ranked as the second most important item at 77%, closely followed by the need to identify people
organizationwide with M&A experience, at 76%. Finally, a system for continuously improving M&A processes is
critical to keep processes and tools current, which M&A professionals ranked as the fourth most important
criterion for M&A success.
Technology. Technologys role in M&A should be to act as the connector and facilitator among the three
components above. The complexity of each component and their interdependencies require supporting
technologies. These technologies must allow the components to become a sustainable system to build and
maintain a strong M&A competence. However, as Forresters research into the market for M&A tools reveals, the
technology component is by far the least mature compared with the components previously outlined. Technology
is the missing link to help companies institutionalize M&A. To date, Forrester knows of no integrated technology
or suite of technologies to help companies with this challenge. M&A professionals must rely instead on a
portfolio of different solutions.
Page 9
Figure 5
Value Of Higher M&A Competence
To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [strongly disagree] to 5 [strongly agree])
A higher M&A competence leads to higher synergies
and improved M&A performance
86%
84%
A higher M&A competence leads to better integration

A higher M&A competence leads to higher appreciation
by external stakeholders (e.g., shareholders)
A higher M&A competence leads
to higher M&A activity
71%
A higher M&A competence leads to higher appreciation

by internal stakeholders (e.g., employees)
69%
A higher M&A competence leads

to pursuing larger deals
Page 10
76%
59%
Figure 6
Top 10 Criteria For Successful Corporate M&A
How critical are the following criteria for successful corporate M&A?
(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [not at all critical] to 5 [very critical])
The corporation has a defined M&A strategy in place
86%
The corporation regularly performs

reviews of its M&A after completion
The corporation is able to identify M&A experienced people
across functions and organizational layers quickly
The corporation continuously improves its M&A
processes and tools
The corporation has a dedicated executive role in
place for its M&A and related activities
77%
76%
73%
72%
The corporation has formalized M&A processes in place
65%
The corporation is able to derive and share M&A

best practices from historic M&A activities
The corporation has a dedicated department/competence
in place that manages all M&A a ctivities centrally
The corporation has dedicated technologies
in place that support its M&A processes
The corporation is constantly collecting
M&A-related intellectual property (IP)
63%
63%
62%
61%

Figure 7
Demystifying The M&A Department At Corporations
Companies with dedicated M&A department
Yes
53%
Base
110
North America
55%
60
Europe
48%
31
Other
53%
19
1,000 to 10,000 employees
45%
73
More than 10,000 employees
68%
37
Privately held company
44%
50
Publicly listed company
60%
60
By geography
By number of
employees
By type of company
Base: 110 M&A professionals at corporations

Page 11
Technology Use And Satisfaction In M&A

Based on Forresters experience with M&A professionals, we identified the portfolio of technologies used throughout
the M&A process. We analyzed the level of use of and satisfaction with these technologies. In particular, we focused on
how use varies during the different phases of M&A and how corporations and advisors practices differ. The
technologies surveyed included general tools such as email, the Internet, and collaboration solutions, as well as
dedicated technologies such as VDRs and PMTs. Key findings include that:
Technology use differs across deal phases and company types. Financial content platforms and VDRs represent
the top two technologies in the pre-deal and transaction phase for advisory firms and corporations. The Internet
also sees high use by both types of companies in the pre-deal phase. While in the transaction phase, investment
banks and legal firms leverage intranet solutions and portals, as well as generic project management software;
consulting firms and corporations primarily use collaboration solutions. Generic project management software is
the top technology being used by corporations in the integration and operation phases, followed by intranet
solutions, portals, and collaboration solutions. Advisors use the same technologies as corporations to a high
degree in the integration phase, but in a different order, with collaboration solutions receiving the highest level of
use. For the operation phase, advisors primarily leverage intranet solutions and portals as well as other
technologies, namely VDRs and PMTs (see Figure 8 and see Figure 9).
Satisfaction results show room for improvement for all technologies. While use indicates how technologies are
leveraged throughout the M&A life cycle, it does not reveal user satisfaction. Only email and the Internet received
high satisfaction results from both advisors and corporations. Generic spreadsheets also returned a high
satisfaction score, but only from advisors. However, with some exceptions in the pre-deal phase, these three
familiar yet generic technologies are not among the most frequently leveraged technologies during the M&A
process. Generic project management software, for example, which is the No. 1 technology used in the
integration and operation phases of corporations, is only in the moderate satisfaction range. This is also true for
other technologies, including collaboration and intranet solutions. In addition, the survey results revealed that
corporations are less satisfied with technologies than are advisors: Less than 50% of corporate respondents are
satisfied with financial content platforms, VDRs, instant messaging solutions, and PMTs (see Figure 10).
Page 12
Figure 8
Heat Map Of Technology Use In M&A: Advisory Firms
8-1 Heat map of technology use in M&A: investment banks and law firms
Ranking of tech use by phase
Low: 8 to 10
High: 1 to 3 Moderate: 4 to 7
Pre-deal Transaction Integration Operation
Email
Internet
10
Generic spreadsheets
Generic project
management software
Collaboration solutions
10
Intranet solutions, portals
10
Financial content platforms

Virtual data room/virtual
deal room (VDR)
Instant messaging
M&A project management
tools (PMT)
8-2 Heat map of technology use in M&A: consulting and other advisory firms
Low: 8 to 10
High: 1 to 3 Moderate: 4 to 7
Email
Internet
10
10
Generic project
management software
10
10

deal room (VDR)
Instant messaging
tools (PMT)
Base: 109 M&A professionals at advisory firms

Note: Technologies that returned the same score in use were also ranked at the same level.
Page 13
Figure 9
Heat Map Of Technology Use In M&A: Corporations
High: 1 to 3
Moderate: 4 to 7
Low: 8 to 10

Email
10
10
Internet
10
10
Generic project
management software

deal room (VDR)
Instant messaging
tools (PMT)

Figure 10
Heat Map Of Technology Satisfaction In M&A
Ranking of technology by satisfaction levels

High: larger than 80%
Moderate: 50% to 80%

Overall
Low: smaller than 50%
Advisors Corporations

deal room (VDR)
54%
58%
48%
54%
61%
47%
Generic project
management software
tools (PMT)
Instant messaging
58%
65%
51%
63%
65%
61%
58%
66%
50%
48%
56%
39%
51%
61%
41%
78%
84%
72%
Internet
84%
86%
82%
Email
78%
90%
87%

Note: Order of technologies is based on their overall use.
Page 14
Capabilities Of The Next-Generation M&A Management Tool

As there are no integrated M&A management tools available yet, some companies have developed custom systems to
facilitate and manage their M&A activities. However, these systems are generally unsophisticated and are focused only
on the actual M&A project and not on the broader initiative, which includes governance and management of the entire
life cycle. Another issue is the confusion regarding who in the organization would approve funding for a
comprehensive M&A management tool, if there were one (see Figure 11). In this study, we found that at more than
40% of both advisory firms and corporations, the chief financial officer (CFO) is the prime stakeholder for approving
funding for M&A tools. In advisory firms, after the CFO, the chief operations officer (COO) and head of corporate
development are the key stakeholders. In corporations, the most important stakeholder for the tools budget after the
CFO is the CIO. Forrester found that a next-generation M&A tool should offer:
A broad and integrated set of management capabilities. Forrester asked M&A professionals which capabilities
they would find useful in an M&A tool (see Figure 12). As some of the other findings in this study already
indicated, more than 80% of respondents would find project management and collaboration capabilities useful.
However, the other four capabilities email management, workflow management, business intelligence and
analytics, and content and market data all returned high results. In particular, the last two items would better
track and compare M&A performance. The high ratings across capabilities indicate that professionals are not
looking for specific point solutions; they are instead looking for an integrated portfolio of capabilities.
New M&A-specific capabilities. Building upon the key findings of this study, demand for new M&A capabilities
emerged. Pre-deal support is one important area, as this is one of the most challenging phases for M&A
professionals. Gathering and evaluating information from internal and external sources in a more integrated and
automated fashion could help optimize (or streamline) pre-deal phase activities, such as the tracking of market
developments. Another example for a new capability is closely linked: embedded templates and tools. Today, for
instance, the templates used by professionals for due diligence are typically generic and cant be dynamically
created within a Web-based environment for considered cases within one solution.
Page 15
Figure 11
Stakeholders Who Approve Funding For M&A Tools, By Type Of Company
What stakeholder/department in your organization approves funding

for virtual deal rooms or other dedicated M&A technologies?
Chief information
officer (CIO)
6%
Other
4% Procurement
1%
Finance
7%
IT organization
8%
IT organization
3%
Chief operations
officer (COO)
Chief financial
7%
officer (CFO)
44%
Finance
11%
Head of corporate
development
13%
Chief financial
officer (CFO)
42%
Head of corporate
development
13%
Chief operations
officer (COO)
17%
Base: 108 M&A professionals at advisory firms
Chief information
officer (CIO)
17%
(percentages do not total 100 because of rounding)
Page 16
Other
3% Procurement
3%
Figure 12
Example Capabilities Of A Next-Generation M&A Management Tool
How useful would you find the following capabilities of an M&A management tool?
(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [not very useful] to 5 [very useful])
84%
Project management capabilities
80%
Collaboration capabilities
Email management capabilities
79%
Workflow management capabilities
78%
Business intelligence and analytics capabilities
Content and market data capabilities

Page 17
70%
64%
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
While M&A patterns are changing, companies must realize that it is time to take M&A to the next level of sophistication.
Given its importance for growth and corporatewide impact, it is surprising how much less developed the M&A competence
is at most organizations. M&A failure does not, in Forresters opinion, start at negotiation or integration it starts from the
companys self-conception, which is reflected in its corporate strategy. Hence, deal professionals should take a step back
and fundamentally rethink their approach to M&A. Creating an M&A competence requires systemic thinking: Only if all
components that create and nurture the system around M&A are well configured and working seamlessly can the
institutionalization of M&A occur. In this setup, transactions are no longer ad hoc, but strategic even in an opportunitydriven scenario. Technology plays a prime role in keeping the system working. Deal professionals must take the following
steps to institutionalize M&A:
Define your M&A strategy. The decision to advance the M&A competence of a company must be a key priority on
the executive agenda. Only full executive buy-in will drive this initiative, as the M&A strategy must be a dedicated
part of overall corporate strategy. Clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and incentive schemes must be put into
place to facilitate this transformation and make it last. The balanced perspective of shorter- and longer-term
priorities to move incrementally along the stages of competence maturity is important in this context.
Create an organizational support structure for M&A. Once the strategic framework for M&A is in place, the
organizational support structure for operationalizing it must be created. Allocating the responsibility across existing
units and roles is not effective. A dedicated function and role must be created with a clear mandate and be
empowered to drive the organizations M&A strategy.
Establish three sets of M&A processes. On the process side, M&A professionals must be aware that the existence
of one discrete M&A process is not sufficient for achieving institutionalization. Companies must also take a holistic
perspective on the process front and establish three sets of M&A processes for: 1) governance and management; 2)
the M&A life cycle; and 3) continuous improvement. This step of institutionalization is only fulfilled if all three sets
are in place.
Implement integrated technologies to enable the institutionalization of M&A. Point solutions and generic
tools are not an effective means of managing the entire M&A life cycle. Only through an integrated portfolio of
technologies will companies be able to constantly advance their M&A competence.
Page 18
Appendix A: Methodology
For this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 219 M&A professionals in Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, Mexico, the UK, and the US to evaluate trends, challenges, success factors, as well as technology use and
satisfaction with M&A. Survey participants included M&A professionals with more than one year of M&A experience
at advisory firms with more than 500 employees (investment banks, consulting firms, law firms, as well as tax, auditing,
and financial advisory firms) and corporations (corporate function of IT vendor/service provider and any other
company) with more than 1,000 employees. The study began in March 2010 and was completed in April 2010.
Appendix B: Demographics
Figure 13
M&A Experience Of Respondents
How many M&A deals were you personally

responsible for, or were you actively
involved in, in 2009?
How many years of professional experience

with M&A do you have?
20 years and more
8%
10 deals and more

13%
5 to <10 deals
13%
1 to <3 deals
55%
1 to <3 years
20%
10 to <20 years
30%
3 to <5 years
13%
3 to <5 deals
19%
5 to <10 years
29%
Page 19
Figure 14
Role And Geographic Distribution Of Respondents
Which of the following most

closely describes your role?
Consultant/
associate
10%
Executive
33%
Which country are you located in?
Other
3%
China
7%
Manager/director/
partner
54%
Mexico
5%
Brazil
7%
UK
10%
France
10%
Germany
10%

(percentages may not total 100 because of rounding)
Page 20
US
27%
Canada
23%
Figure 15
Sizes And Industries Of Surveyed Companies
How many employees work for

your company worldwide?
100,000
employees and 500 to
more
50,000 to
<1,000
6%
<100,000
employees
employees
12%
7%
10,000 to
<50,000
employees
19%
5,000 to
<10,000 employees
17%
Which of the following best describes

your companys industry?
Energy and mining
4%
Life sciences and
Utilities and
healthcare
telecommunications
4%
5%
Media, entertainment,
and leisure
5%
Technology
7%
1,000 to
<5,000 employees
39%
Retail and
wholesale
9%
Manufacturing
16%

(percentages may not total 100 because of rounding)
Page 21
Business
services
30%
Finance and
insurance
21%
Appendix C: Supplemental Material

Related Forrester Research
Market Overview: The M&A Management Tools Market In 2009, Forrester Research, Inc., April 10, 2009
M&A Management Tools Continue To Thrive As The Recession Changes Corporate M&A Behavior, Forrester
Research, Inc., January 27, 2009
Understanding The M&A Services Market, Forrester Research, Inc., October 15, 2008
The Emerging M&A Management Tools Market, Forrester Research, Inc., September 9, 2008
Appendix D: Endnotes
While the use of automated tools is well advanced for operational processes such as supply chain management (SCM)
or customer relationship management (CRM), the market for solutions that support mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
is still nascent. This is mainly due to the fact that corporate acquirers view M&A as an event rather than a structured
process. The technologies that M&A professionals typically use in this context include: simple spreadsheets for keeping
lists and tracking people, tasks, and costs; generic project management tools for tracking project progress and timelines;
and corporate intranet sites for storing and sharing information. In addition, they use paper-based M&A playbooks as a
source of general best practices for planning and executing M&A projects. Source: The Emerging M&A Management
Tools Market, Forrester Research, Inc., September 9, 2008.
2
For M&A management, Forrester differentiates between two types of tools: virtual deal rooms (VDRs) and M&A
project management tools (PMTs). These tools are now more critical than ever for dealing with the following key
issues: reducing time and costs; improving collaboration; and enhancing deal transparency and compliance. Source:
M&A Management Tools Continue To Thrive As The Recession Changes Corporate M&A Behavior, Forrester
Research, Inc., January 27, 2009.
M&A management tool providers are growing at rapid rates. This strong growth of M&A virtual deal room (VDR)
and project management tool (PMT) providers will continue despite the current economic turmoil and fall in the M&A
market. The market for such tools was $283 million in 2008 and will reach a total market size of nearly $1 billion by
2013 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29%. Source: Market Overview: The M&A Management Tools
Market In 2009, Forrester Research, Inc., April 10, 2009.
4
The provider landscape for M&A services is extremely heterogeneous in terms of players and fragmented in terms of
service offerings. Management consultancies, tax and auditing advisory firms, systems integrators, and IT outsourcers
all claim to be able to act as strategic partners to their clients throughout the M&A life cycle. Source: Understanding
The M&A Services Market, Forrester Research, Inc., October 15, 2008.
Page 22

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A Forrester Consulting Thought Leadership Paper Commissioned By IntraLinks

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

About Forrester Consulting

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

The M&A Management Tools Market Is Still Nascent

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

The company will consider longterm deployment, due to higher deal

There is deal-based tool

Trends And Challenges In A Changing M&A Environment

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

How has the global economic recession changed M&A behavior?

More due diligence

More demand for greater visibility of M&A department

More demand for retaining M&A best p ractices

More demand for sharing M&A knowledge

More demand for dedicated M&A

More divestitures and carve-outs

More demand for formulized M&A processes

Base: 219 M&A professionals

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

Performing due diligence

What are your top three challenges

Managing and evaluating

Understanding context and history

Ensuring information security

Distribution, negotiation, markup/editing,

Drafting, negotiating and editing

Buyer outreach and distribution

Estimating time and costs

Base: 202 M&A professionals

Base: 135 M&A professionals

Identifying appropriate buyers

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

How difficult are the following tasks to perform in M&A management?

Ensuring effective collaboration internally

Ensuring efficient communication internally

Tracking and deriving M&A best practices

Tracking tasks and progress across teams

Reporting real-time picture of progress

Selecting and allocating appropriate resources

Updating processes and methodologies

Base: 219 M&A professionals

Criteria For Successful Corporate M&A

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

A higher M&A competence leads to better integration

A higher M&A competence leads to higher appreciation

A higher M&A competence leads

Trends, Challenges, And Technology Use In A Changing M&A Environment

The corporation regularly performs

The corporation has formalized M&A processes in place

The corporation is able to derive and share M&A

Base: 219 M&A professionals

Companies with dedicated M&A department

1,000 to 10,000 employees

More than 10,000 employees

Privately held company