NEW YORK - Donnelley & Sons Company - According to Dealmakers' Guide,commissioned by RR Donnelley's Financial Services Group, and presented with Mergermarket, companies looking to invest need guidance from their adviser pool like never before for a successful M&A transaction. While 72% of companies feel the most qualified in formulating rationale, when it comes to the value advisers provide, 73% feel advisers are the most helpful during the post-merger integration process, and 52% feel it is during the due diligence process.

"Due diligence and post-merger integration are areas in which advisers can offer the most value," said the head of finance at a top energy company. "These functions are interrelated, and without proper diligence we cannot succeed in integration. Advisers hold the proficiency to correctly measure and gauge the requirements in the deal process."

Some key highlights from the report include:

• Corporates feel that due diligence and formulating the deal rationale are the most important steps when it comes to deal value. Respondents noted how navigating these phases well help lead to more informed decision-making down the line.
• Almost all, 97% of respondents, have used advisers in the post-merger integration stage of their last deal, as corporates are less confident in their abilities the further they go into a deal, feeling their expertise lies in targeting and coming up with deal rationale.
• Corporates mainly define M&A success by looking at sales growth metrics, with almost three quarters using it as a primary success measure.
• 75% view an adviser's past M&A record as the main factor that influences corporates when making a choice.

The report also includes two features about the different ways dealmakers are leveraging new technologies for deal success and the exploration of adviser positives and pitfalls when working with clients. As technology is becoming stronger, more cost-effective and timesaving, advisers must also be sensitive to the evolving goals that companies want to achieve through M&A to provide useful and helpful assistance. 

"At RR Donnelley, we understand the level of trust companies place with their advisers during the diligence process, which in most cases is the pivotal point of a company's growth," noted Craig Clay, Executive Vice President of RR Donnelley's Financial Services Group.  "This is why we continue to aggressively invest in our vast breadth of financial technology platforms to make the diligence process as efficient, secure and transparent as possible."

The complete report is available for download here.