Advisers tired of lengthy deal processes, research reveals

Bankers, lawyers, consultants and accountants specialising in mergers and acquisitions have expressed their frustrations in closing M&A deals.

A survey of 520 UK-based M&A dealmakers by by ansarada, the data room provider for M&A deals, finds that 49% want to close twice as many deals as they are currently completing. 

The average M&A consultant currently closes four deals per year on average but wants to complete eight M&A per year.

The study also identifies the main causes of delayed transactions, with the number one reason that one quarter of M&A dealmakers (26%) admit that the due diligence process gets in the way of deal completion.

A further 23% blame indecisive sellers as the main reason why deals are held up. 

This is significantly more of a problem than indecisive buyers, which only accounts for holding up 14% of deals.

UK dealmakers also acknowledge that there is significant time wasting in the M&A process. The average transaction has 12 days of wastage, adding significant amount of cost to an M&A deal. 

However nearly one in five (19%) of those surveyed state that 20 or more days are wasted in the average M&A deal.

Stephen Dearing, ansarada’s Vice President EMEA, said: “With the significant increase in M&A deals and the time taken to execute, there has been greater focus on successful completions. Naturally, there are elements of a deal which get in the way of closing that can frustrate all parties involved.”