Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to fundamentally alter the deal-making landscape and how target companies are evaluated.
The technology is being deployed by both buyers and sellers to enhance due diligence and drive greater efficiency across the transaction lifecycle, providing a competitive edge in tight processes, according to Freddie Saunders, corporate finance director with PwC Ireland.
“Teams are using AI to accelerate document review, surface issues earlier, and maintain momentum from initial preparation through signing and into day one, including streamlining execution and post-deal integration activities,” he continues. “On the sell side, AI is improving data readiness and supporting vendor due-diligence, helping management present a cleaner, more robust narrative to buyers. Given the sensitivity of deal information, advisers that have invested in enterprise-grade AI solutions with strong governance and controls to protect confidential client and transaction data and ensure compliance are winning more of the market.”
Deloitte Advisory transaction services partner George Byron says GenAI is changing how M&A professionals evaluate targets, conduct due diligence, and execute transactions. “Unlike traditional AI, GenAI’s ability to synthesise huge datasets, identify hidden patterns, and generate implementable insights in real time is enabling M&A professionals to move faster, reduce risk and unlock value. For example, in private equity, where a firm evaluates 50 potential targets or conducts market mapping, GenAI can now screen and prioritise against predetermined criteria in days instead of weeks, resulting in a real competitive advantage.”
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Adoption is gathering pace, he adds. “Our 2025 M&A Generative AI report surveyed 1,000 senior corporate and PE M&A leaders on this and showed that the adoption curve is steep. Eighty-six per cent of responding organisations have integrated GenAI into their M&A workflows, with 65 per cent doing so within the past year. Some professionals are past the experimentation phase, with approximately 40 per cent saying they use GenAI in more than half of their deals.”
Support with due diligence and contract document drafting are highlighted by BDO transaction services partner Rory O’Keeffe. “In due-diligence processes, AI tools can expedite the review of contracts, financial information and compliance records, accelerating risk assessment and the identification of potential deal issues or opportunities,” he says. “By flagging irregularities in financial and operational data, AI directs human attention to areas requiring deeper investigation, thereby enhancing both efficiency and thoroughness.”
The technology can also play a significant role when drafting legal and contractual documents and conducting negotiations as part of the M&A process, he adds. “AI-powered tools can rapidly produce draft contracts by leveraging data from previous transactions, embedding standard clauses customised for the specific deal to address insights uncovered during due diligence.”
Looking to the future, Byron says the Deloitte survey highlighted emerging use cases in valuation and deal structure, deal execution, and post-deal integration and value realisation.
“As tools are applied to post-deal integration and value realisation, GenAI could unlock even greater value by accelerating synergy identification, benchmarking and transformation planning,” he says.
“The future of AI in M&A promises not only greater speed and accuracy, but also entirely new ways to create and protect deal value for business,” O’Keeffe notes. “AI will provide real-time market sensing and target identification, advanced forecast and scenario planning, deeper due-diligence insights, contracting drafting and negotiation capabilities and post-merger integration management support. All of which is transforming how companies and their professional advisers execute and deliver on transactions, enabling stakeholders to focus their efforts on the most strategic aspects of a transaction.”
AI is likely to be embedded end-to-end across the M&A lifecycle, from early preparation and buyer outreach through diligence, execution and integration, says PwC Ireland deals partner Laura Gilbride. “Integration planning and tracking should become more systematic, with AI helping companies and their advisers to model and monitor synergy delivery and sustain deal value with greater predictability.”
She also expects to see wider adoption by both buyers and sellers throughout the M&A process. “Buyers who can fully understand and leverage the impact of AI gain a critical edge in competitive processes, while sellers who deploy it effectively can materially improve the efficiency of their own deal preparation,” she says.
“Data security in AI environments is critical, so companies and their advisers should ensure they have invested in enterprise-level AI solutions and controls to protect sensitive information,” Gilbride concludes. “Equally, ensuring the broader complexities related to the human aspects of a transaction are considered and prioritised will be vital to success.”
