Cyber security in mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

Cyber security can have a significant impact on business value across the lifecycle of an investment. By considering the cyber security risks and priorities at each stage of the deal process, you can mitigate the threat of cyber attacks, avoid overspending on security, and maximise the return on investment.

Why cyber security matters in M&A

Negotiate with confidence

A cyber security due diligence assessment will help uncover any security risks and liabilities, as well as the costs for remediation. This will provide you with key inputs to support negotiation and help establish whether the acquisition is equipped to deliver on your deal thesis.

Optimise your integration or separation plans

By proactively examining the cyber security challenges you may face in the separation or integration of an entity, you can build and then execute a robust, secure and cost-effective plan that supports wider strategic objectives.

Focus on value creation

An ongoing focus on cyber security throughout the deals lifecycle helps protect your investment, optimise security spend and to ensure your value creation plans can be realised.

Maximise your return on investment

A clear, consistent message on cyber security that stands up to buyer scrutiny will help you achieve maximum value and limit any delays in the sale process.

Our cyber security M&A services

Our dedicated cyber deals team can help you maximise value at each stage of the deal lifecycle. We combine technical and financial expertise to clearly explain cyber security risks and opportunities in the context of M&A activity.

We provide tailored, specialist advice from due diligence through to divestment, delivering insight that can inform investment decisions, legal documents and practical action plans.

Cyber security activities aligned to the phases of a deal

Ativity	End-to-end cyber M&A framework
Deal phase	Due diligence	On-boarding and integration	Risk management and value creation	Divestment and separation
Deal phase security goals	Identify security risk exposures to support negotiation and drive remediation. Uncover hidden costs and risks associated with separation and integration. Identify process misalignment and incompatibility that will complicate value creation.	Aid investee/acquisition in addressing significant risks. Support assets in achieving peer-aligned security capability baseline. Ensure integration process is fully planned and securely executed to safeguard value.	Build and mobilise end-to-end frameworks for acquisition risk management. Preserve and create business value through optimised security spend and capability improvement, cost-out and security premium generation.	Prepare business for buyer scrutiny and articulate security 'value story'. Uncover unknown breaches to prevent exposure of hidden liabilities that impact sale. Produce accurately costed separation plans to deliver appropriate transfer of security responsibility and secure divestment execution to retain value.
Activity	Cyber security DD	Detailed integration planning	Cyber security optimisation review	Sale preparedness review and training
	Security transition and cost analysis	Rapid fix team	Portfolio exposure and expenditure assessment	Detailed separation planning
	Business continuity DD	Secure integration office	Targeted post-acquisition review	Secure separation office

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