The impact of artificial intelligence on M&A operations.

Edson Gissoni and Rual Rousselet – Executive Partners of DMS PARTNERS

In recent years, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in M&A operations has gone from being a trend to a strategic necessity. In an environment where the speed and accuracy of decisions are crucial, AI has begun to offer concrete advantages in opportunity origination, due diligence, financial modeling, and risk assessment.

Practical applications in the M&A journey

1. Origination and prospecting of targets: AI algorithms can cross-reference large volumes of corporate, sectoral, and financial data to identify potential acquisition targets or potential investors in a sale transaction, aligned with the strategic profile of the buyer or investor. This allows the M&A team to focus its efforts on more qualified opportunities and generate insights that would be unfeasible through manual analysis.

2. Accelerated and intelligent due diligence: Language modeling and pattern recognition tools can review thousands of contractual documents in minutes, highlighting critical clauses, hidden contingencies, and inconsistencies. This automation increases the reliability of the analysis and significantly reduces the time spent on legal and accounting review stages.

3. Financial Analysis and Dynamic Pricing: Predictive models and data analytics tools applied to financial databases help to estimate synergies, integration risks, and EBITDA projections with greater accuracy. This results in more realistic valuations and data-driven negotiations, directly benefiting the buyer or seller.

4. Risk Mitigation and Compliance: AI-based solutions can map complex corporate relationships, detect suspicious transactions, and anticipate reputational risks. This makes operations safer, meeting the compliance and transparency requirements of local and international regulations.

Value generated for the customer

For a client in an M&A transaction, the use of artificial intelligence is perceived in three essential dimensions:

• Efficiency: faster processes with a smaller margin of error.

• Strategic quality: decisions made based on data and predictive analytics.

• Cost and risk reduction: less exposure to hidden liabilities and greater security in decision-making.

By adopting these tools, the M&A consultant not only optimizes their work, but also delivers more robust advice to the client, with technical foundations and applied competitive intelligence.

Conclusion

The integration between M&A and artificial intelligence is redefining the role of the consultant, who is now acting less as a process executor and more as a data-driven strategist. This evolution does not replace human judgment, but enhances it, and that is precisely what the client values: efficiency with intelligence, technology with strategy.

DMS PARTNERS , in its M&A advisory projects , already uses AI tools to complement the expertise of its partners and specialists.