Physical vs Virtual Data Room for M&A Transactions

Have you ever wondered what it is like to manage your entire data in one place? You can use a data room which is a safe location where sensitive information is stored, frequently for legal procedures or mergers & acquisitions. Documents are stored, files are shared, important documents are secured, and financial transactions are conducted in data rooms. In this article, we explain the different types of data rooms, and how they are used in M&A transactions.

A physical and virtual data room in M&A transaction

M&A requires the use of data rooms. Corporate development teams, investment bankers, private equity experts, and legal teams will all use an M&A data room. Initial public offerings (IPOs) require both transparency and confidentiality; therefore, data rooms are essential. Data rooms can be utilized in company audits since they provide a single secure store for all documents that auditors, accountants, lawyers, and regulators need to examine. They are also used to centralize essential information in collaborative corporate projects.

Understand data room

A data room is a safe location where documents can be shared with specific people, reducing the risk of sharing confidential documents to others. As a result, data rooms are utilized in M&A and other sensitive corporate transactions and for various legal processes and regular file sharing and storage. Data rooms used to be physical rooms with hard copies of important documents. The majority of data rooms are now protected websites, also known as virtual data rooms (VDRs). They can provide more tailored degrees of security and supporting features in addition to basic file sharing because they are software-as-a-service (SaaS).

What is a physical data room?

It’s a physical facility set up by the seller to store important documents needed during a merger and acquisition. The data room is a part of the due diligence process, and purchasers and their attorneys can see it before a transaction is closed. Before concluding the sale, the buyer will frequently need to gather as much information as possible about the company being purchased.

What is a virtual data room?

A virtual data room (VDR) is a cloud-based solution for securing and sharing sensitive data. It can make the due diligence process for a merger and acquisition or venture capital transaction easier by allowing potential purchasers to access data over a secure internet connection.

Virtual data rooms are increasingly replacing traditional data rooms because of their cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and security features. A Q&A tool, notes, multi-factor authentication, and advanced permissions are all standard components of them. With growing industries about internet security, virtual data room providers are developing increasingly complex security features to safeguard data integrity.

Key differences between physical vs virtual data rooms

In most businesses, sensitive data such as intellectual property, legal documents, mergers and acquisitions, and fundraising is held in a data room. In the past, data rooms were actual physical rooms where paper documents were stored. The room would be guarded and have heavy surveillance, and only authorized people have access to enter the room for business-sensitive material.

Cost difference

Physical data rooms had to be rented, hired, or purchased and then appropriately maintained and secured. This entailed a significant financial investment in terms of rent, maintenance, upkeep, and security. To keep track of who had access to the room and who may refer to the documents, logs were required. This was inconvenient and necessitated extra people to oversee operations.

As a result, there were increased expenditures associated with hiring more personnel. Aside from that, whenever one needed to examine documents, one had to travel to the spot. Virtual data rooms may be accessed from anywhere as long as there’s internet connection. With a cloud-based solution to take care of important documents, it reduces travel time and costs significantly.

Time-consuming

As printed paperwork is maintained in a physical data room, evaluating and looking through all of the material is a tough and time-consuming procedure. Consider how many files and pieces of paper you’ll have to dig through to find your specific document.

Document access is made easier and faster with VDR, and it is much easier to organize, refer to and change documents. Everything may be done from the comfort of your own home and at your own leisure.

Efficiency

One of the main features of a virtual data room is that it allows you to contact a large number of bidders in a short period of time. Bidders would need to make an appointment to gain access to a standard data room. In a virtual data room, however, those identical bidders would all have access to the room simultaneously, drastically reducing deal time and resulting in 20% to 30% higher offer prices.

Many bidders are unable to go to and from traditional data rooms due to a lack of time. Because users can access a virtual data room at any time from anywhere in the world, implementing a VDR helps convert these would-be bidders into purchases.

Document control

By using a cloud-based solution, virtual data rooms eliminate the risk of errors in documents by having one user managing them and sharing the relevant documents to appropriate third parties.

At the administrator’s discretion, certain security features like document expiration, disabled print/download, and dynamic watermarks can be configured. Permission settings that can be customized (either by the user or by group) give you more control over who has access to certain documents in the data room.

Tracking

Everything has an audit trail in a virtual data room, but it’s more difficult in a physical data room. You won’t be able to keep track of who has viewed which document in a traditional data room, but an online data room allows you to keep daily logs of which bidders looked at which documents.

Confidentiality

Another benefit of an online data room over a traditional data room is the ability to keep discussions between you and your bidders private and thorough. Online data rooms allow you to respond to particular queries from one organization without revealing the information to others. If, on the other hand, you wish to provide new documentation for everyone to see, the process is made simple and straightforward.

Flexibility

Virtual rooms provide innovative capabilities that can improve the transaction’s speed and efficiency. Due diligence in a physical data room is significantly more difficult to manage than in a virtual data room, and while some transactions still require the presence of such a facility, the majority now choose to use the online option.

Communication

They can keep track of who uses the available papers, when they use them, and which documents they look at. Companies can configure different access levels for different individuals using permission-based roles. Files are kept safe, if not safer, than if viewed in a hardcopy version, thanks to multi-factor authentication protocols and 24/7 third-party monitoring available in select virtual data rooms today.

Security

Personnel, hardware, software, networks, and data are all protected from physical acts and events that could result in serious loss or damage to an organization, agency, or institution. This covers fire, flood, and natural calamities, as well as burglary, theft, vandalism, and terrorism.

Virtual data rooms, on the other hand, provide sophisticated protection and control capabilities that reduce risks, improve efficiency, and safeguard your sensitive data. Accidental disclosures are avoided with virtual data room security, papers can be retracted at any moment, and you are always protected after the transaction.

How does a virtual data room work in M&A transactions?

A due diligence data room is a secure cloud storage space where many parties in M&A agreements can share sensitive data. It can assist in the storage and exchange of key business, legal, and financial papers that can be shown to potential investors for review and analysis before the start of a partnership.

Investors and purchasers can simply access due diligence data rooms following the seller’s permission and signing of the NDA. In comparison to a standard data room, an innovative and up-to-date choice is flexible, economical, and helpful. The administrator can grant access to the essential documents to several users, and the administrator controls each user’s level of access. The data in the virtual data room can be uploaded and downloaded by the administrator.

Important VDR considerations for M&A transactions

Due Diligence (DD) is the process of checking and investigating potential transactions in order to confirm and verify all facts and information presented during a Merger & Acquisitions (M&A) transaction. In the context of M&A, the DD’s primary goal is to identify any deal-related issues involving the target company’s assets, liabilities, and operations that could jeopardize the acquirer’s and acquired ability to complete the transaction.

Why do companies opt for virtual data room over physical in M&A transaction?

The M&A process can benefit greatly from the use of a VDR. The greatest platforms do more than just store data; they also fulfill a variety of other functions. They are most commonly used in mergers & acquisitions. As part of the due diligence process, buyers frequently require access to vast numbers of secret papers.

Many of these documents are private and must be kept in a secure location where bidders may access them. Buyers can review and exchange papers without having to travel to the seller’s office using VDR. It also reduces the cost of the evaluation procedure because the buyer does not have to deal with massive paper papers or pay for the travel of many experts to examine them.

Features of virtual data room offered by Eqvista

There are so many features that the virtual data room offers, and these are specialized and customized according to client needs by Eqvista. Eqvista has embedded various features in their software which are given below:

• Easy document storage and navigation – The parties can gather all documents in one place using data room software by Eqvista. This provides a secure and easy location for the company’s secret information. You can easily navigate through the documents, and simply upload documents by dragging and dropping them into the system.
• Automated features – Today’s virtual data rooms provide a variety of options for integrating the data room with your existing business operations. The virtual data room you choose should have a versatile, secure web services API that allows you to establish, operate, and control the virtual data room programmatically, as well as deeply integrate it into your business workflows. Look for the option to employ embeddable widgets and single sign-on so that users can log in to your secure online application and open the VDR with a single click.
• Sharing documents – Eqvista allows you to share documents to relevant shareholders without giving them full access. You can set the access of shareholders to limit their editing privileges to reduce the risk of document deletion or change.
• Fast process – It can take a long time for attendees to come to a meeting, whether you’re meeting with new clients, holding a company-wide meeting, or simply connecting with remote coworkers. Virtual meeting spaces remove the time waste and travel expenses associated with traditional in-person meetings while still allowing participants to communicate and collaborate face to face via cloud video conferencing.
• Customization – The virtual room can be customized according to the utility of the company. Each company has specific preferences and specifications, which might be complicated.
• Download documents – VMRs are easy-to-use collaboration tools that help you organize your workflow and increase efficiency by sharing content. Using collaboration tools like screen sharing and recording online meetings, individuals who were unable to attend can watch them afterward.

Use Eqvista as your highly secure virtual data room!

A virtual data room can be a useful tool for easing trade transactions and other situations where secret papers must be securely shared. Choosing the correct VDR with the sophisticated capabilities you demand, on the other hand, can be the difference between a smooth and efficient procedure and one that is inconvenient and jeopardizes transaction success. We have built a highly secure virtual room for you to make this process easier for you. You can customize it according to your needs. To know more about Eqvista, kindly fill up the sign up form and get a free consultation from us.