I agree that the due diligence process will differ depending on industries quite a bit and the purpose of the M&A transaction should also be considered. For example, if a technology company is purely interested in specific patents, trademarks or an individual’s subject matter expertise, then a virtual due diligence may actually be sufficient. If physical assets are involved, a virtual walk-through may be subjectively showing the best aspects, and additional risk increases when certain information realized post-transaction. The number of locations and employees may also vary. Smaller asset purchases or companies might be able to wing it easily with only virtual meetings and shared data. I’m glad that virtual aspects have evolved and become more acceptable to save time and travel though.
