[Dom Bourgeon]

1- IT infrastructure: This is often overlooked but it can require a substantial amount of work. E.g. your company is using Salesforce and the acquired company using a completely different system to capture sales, issues and so on. It can be a nightmare to integrate.

2- QMS: Seems innocuous but it is not. The merger of processes and in particular QMS can be very complicated in particular when a large companies acquired a small one. The small one will have a higher level of agility, being small than a more bureaucratic large companies particularly in a highly regulated environment where audits can happen and will happen regularly. Bringing the smaller one up to the standards of the larger one can kill the upside of the integration.

[Chin Yang Low]

I agree with some of the responses that IT due diligence is perhaps one of the most overlooked areas in M&A. Once, I worked on a sell-side for a private banking deal and there was no separate IT due diligence performed. Later, there was a delay in the closing of deal as there were hiccups in the integration of data between the acquirer and target company as both were using different software platforms. Fortunately, the problem was resolved in the matter of days, and the deal went through smoothly. However, it was still a lesson to consider IT due diligence seriously as it can have a serious impact on post-merger integration.

[Gregory Bast]

Customer and Supplier Relationships
Why it’s overlooked: While companies focus on financials and legal liabilities, they may not fully examine the stability and dynamics of customer and supplier contracts.
Why it matters: A target’s key customer or supplier base may be highly concentrated or at risk due to contractual terms, dependency on a few partners, or market shifts. A deep dive into these relationships—examining long-term contracts, exclusivity clauses, and the stability of these relationships—can reveal significant risks or hidden value.

[Nigatu Balcha]

In my opinion, the most overlooked areas of Due diligence is the culture of the society where the target company is found. The social culture and tradition where the parent ( the buyer) company may not go with the social structure of the targeted one. In that case the society may be against of the buyer.

[Nigatu Balcha]

In my opinion, the most overlooked areas of Due diligence is the culture of the society where the target company is found. The social culture and tradition where the parent ( the buyer) company may not go with the social structure of the targeted one. In that case the society may be against of the buyer. Overlooking this may impact
– The people in the target company may have special relation with the owners if the assume the purchase is against his interest riots may arise.
– If the society in the area were getting support directly or indirectly from the target company they may assume the new deal have negative impact .
So, when DD is done the assessment of the society relationship with the target business is important.

[Author]

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