Due Diligence White Paper

"Generally, the information that an acquirer expects is broken down into the following categories:

• General Corporate Matters
• Financial, Accounting, and Taxes
• Technology and Intellectual Property
• Product / Service Offerings
• Operations
• Sales and Marketing
• Human Resources and Personnel
• Legal and Regulatory

Within each category, there tend to be two distinct types of requests: document requests and questions to be answered over the phone and in meetings...Balancing these demands with the need for secrecy, while being reasonable and maintaining a good relationship with the potential acquirer, is certainly one of the challenges of the due diligence process...

Potential acquirers are typically trustworthy and sincere in their intent when conducting due diligence, with making an acquisition the goal rather than gathering competitive intelligence. However, some may enter the process with both goals, and a few may actually have bad intentions.

With that in mind, there are three actions that a company can take to decrease the odds of wasting time and unnecessarily parting with sensitive information, while not overly encumbering the acquisition process:

A. Gauge the seriousness of the potential acquirer
B. Stage the flow of information
C. Be on the lookout for warning signs..."

Read more in this due diligence white paper from Baker Pacific, Inc..