Ready or not: How companies are rethinking transactions in a volatile market
This article originally appeared in our October 23rd edition of the Diligent Minute Newsletter. For more insights like these, delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe here.
After months of buzz in the third quarter of 2024, many expected 2025 would finally spark a wave of IPOs and breathe new life into public markets. Instead, mounting economic pressures and sudden shifts in U.S. fiscal and trade policy have forced companies to reconsider even their most basic transaction strategies. Traditionally, when IPO activity slows, mergers and acquisitions pick up the slack. But this year, deal-making has slowed, raising a critical question for organizations everywhere: are they genuinely prepared for transactions in this climate?
2025 IPO slowdown and M&A outlook: Transaction readiness under pressure
We surveyed over 230 chief financial officers, general counsels and directors from public and private companies around the world about their growth strategies and transaction plans in this uncertain landscape, in partnership with Wilson Sonsini, NetSuite, CFO Alliance, and the CFO Leadership Council. Here’s what they had to say:
Nearly half of organizations stay the course, with caveats
Interestingly, we found that nearly half of organizations (49%) are still prioritizing M&A or strategic partnerships in their growth strategies. “[Companies are] taking much longer to evaluate deals and are being more selective about opportunities,” NetSuite’s Ranga Bodla, Vice President of Field Engagement and Marketing at NetSuite explains.
Geopolitical uncertainty accounts for some of this hesitancy. Thirty-five percent of the senior leaders we surveyed cited it as a major challenge when it comes to their transaction plans. But many companies just don’t feel ready for complex transactions right now, calling out increased caution, adjusted valuation models and financial projections, and enhanced focus on due diligence and risk as their responses to economic uncertainty.
Confidence in organizational readiness to support a major transaction right now ranks just 5.7 on a scale from 1 to 10, even as 49% of leaders say they are prioritizing M&A or strategic partnerships in their game plans for growth.
An urgent call from inside the house
“We need to strengthen our governance structures to suit the current VUCA [volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity] environment,” one survey respondent bluntly declares.
Over half (56%) cited limited resources, over one third (35%) data access, and over one quarter (28%) a lack of experienced personnel as challenges in the transaction process, with many also calling for better defined roles (42%) and stronger board communication and support (31%).
Close the readiness gap: Integrated GRC, finance and AI to accelerate due diligence
But here’s what stuck out as a red flag to me: A mere 4% of organizations reported having fully integrated governance, risk compliance (GRC), and finance systems for transactions. Just 5% use AI-powered tools, 10% financial reporting tools, 16% ERP software and 20% secure data rooms. All of these technologies can bolster due diligence, valuations, analysis and planning, and help companies learn about and act on deal opportunities faster. In fact, a full 60% still operate with siloed or only partially integrated platforms.
“Many organizations remain stuck in analog transaction processes,” my colleague Nithya Das, General Manager and Chief Legal Officer at Diligent, said. “Technology adoption directly addresses the operational risks companies frequently cite.”
In short, insufficient tools are holding too many corporate deal teams back, and inefficient processes are slowing them down.
Control what you can
If 2025 has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t control the external environment your organization operates in. But you can adapt to it, think proactively, and get your internal processes in order to support and prepare for transactions. “Companies can do a lot of things day-to-day to improve readiness for a potential transaction,” notes Rich Mullen, Partner at Wilson Sonsini.
Think digital workrooms that engage internal stakeholders and external advisors in activities from onboarding to planning.
Collaboration workflows that standardize due diligence and keep it on track. Secure communications channels for sensitive information, along with records, checklists, playbooks, and “lessons learned” logs stored in one centralized place. “Transaction readiness requires integrated preparation across people, processes, and technology,” Nithya reminds readers.
Nick Araco, CEO of the CFO Alliance, said that “the most effective finance leaders are turning the discipline of transaction readiness into a year-round capability.”
He explains how these leaders are “integrating lessons learned into their planning cycles and building internal muscle for deal execution. We’re also seeing growing interest in how AI can accelerate diligence, flag risks earlier, and free teams from manual work so they can focus on value creation.”
That’s a sentiment we apply to financial modeling, data analysis, enhanced due diligence and more in our report. As Bodla concludes: “The organizations that invest in these technological capabilities now will be better positioned to move quickly and confidently when the right opportunities arise.”
Delve into the details — and step up your own game for deal preparation — by downloading the full analysis: “Transaction Readiness in Turbulent Times.”
Related resources
Ready for the deal: Transaction readiness in turbulent times
Unlock benchmarks and best practices from the Transaction Readiness report, based on a global survey of over 200 senior leaders spanning public and private organizations.
Getting transaction ready: Boards, deals, and tech in unpredictable markets
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Rich Mullen, Partner in Wilson Sonsini’s M&A Practice, and Ranga Bodla, Vice President, Field Engagement and Marketing at NetSuite, Meghan Day to unpack a new joint report exploring transaction readiness in today’s unpredictable market.
Amid market volatility ‘transaction readiness’ remains your greatest growth strategy
Growth-minded companies must prioritize transaction-ready governance for successful IPOs, M&A deals and attracting investment in 2025.
