Avallon Fund has carried out over 100 management buyouts in its twenty-year history. The fund is primarily involved in projects initiated by managers, focusing on effectively increasing the value of their companies. Avallon helps all parties achieve transactional success – as a result, owners can be sure that their company will be in good hands, and the new executives take over a business they know well. Both in the investment processes (including MBO, LMBO) and divestments, the fund uses the FORDATA Virtual Data Room system. How do we help Avallon conduct these processes more efficiently?
Due Diligence is a necessary stage of every investment process. Its role is to subject the company to an in-depth analysis in order for it to be valued by the investor. Due diligence involves specialists from many independent companies, often geographically dispersed. Usually, 20 to several dozen specialists from several independent companies are involved in the transactions. In the course of the audit, the company that is the target of the transaction provides investors with sensitive information that may affect the company’s future competitive position. The amount of this information may not be large, but its protection is absolutely critical.
On the other hand, efficient organization of Due diligence lies in the interest of every person and company involved in it. Avallon saw these needs over 10 years ago. That is why the fund was looking for a technological partner who would provide a solution to conduct Due Diligence on-line in a safe, organized and comfortable way for all its participants. In addition to a reliable system, it was important for Avallon to find a company that works in accordance with similar values based on trust, partnership and honesty.
FORDATA became the technology partner preferred by Avallon on the first transaction made with the use of VDR (sale of Good Food to the Resource Partners fund). Due to the fact that Avallon takes on various roles (sometimes it is the seller, sometimes it is an investor), we have signed a VDR contract with the target company each time. However, we have used our experience to properly determine the size of the VDR instance, or the time needed to make the VDR available and close the process.
An independent data room is launched for each transaction, in which the target company provides investors and their advisers with documents subject to due diligence. Access is possible onlnie, 24/7 from anywhere, and it is strictly regulated and supervised. Only the persons authorized by the administrator on the part of the owner / managers can view the documents. The target companies and the fund (if it is the owner) have full control over the course of the process thanks to user activity reports.
After each process has ended, FORDATA creates an encrypted physical VDR archive that comes includes all user activity reports. If the transaction is successful, the archive becomes an attachment to the investment agreement.