Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Case Study: Uncovering Hidden Risks in M&A with Golden Owl

Client Overview: M&A Firm in Spain

An M&A firm in Spain was preparing for a merger and needed to conduct a deep risk assessment. Their challenge was identifying hidden risks, evaluating corporate reputation, and ensuring a comprehensive due diligence process beyond traditional methods. With multiple stakeholders and limited time, they sought an efficient way to analyze financial, media, and risk factors.

To streamline their investigation, they used Golden Owl’s intelligence solutions, allowing them to uncover critical insights that could impact the merger.

 

Implementation of Golden Owl’s Solutions

The firm followed a structured approach, using Golden Owl’s collectors and analytical tools to gather and interpret essential data.

1. Compliance & Financial Risk Assessment

One of their primary concerns was obtaining a reliable financial overview of the target company. They used Golden Owl’s Compliance Collector to retrieve:

  • Annual financial accounts
  • Corporate structure, changes, and official filings
  • Business registry data
  • Financial risk scoring

Challenge: Ensuring the accuracy and completeness of financial records while expanding the analysis beyond conventional business reports.

Outcome: They received a full compliance report within minutes, featuring ready analysis and insights into financial stability and potential risks, seamlessly integrable with other collectors for a comprehensive assessment.

2. Media Intelligence – Investigating the Business, Executives, and Shareholders

Public perception was another key concern, as past media reports could indicate potential risks. The firm created Media Intelligence Collectors to analyze:

  • News coverage related to the business within the specific period of time
  • Articles and press mentions of executives and shareholders
  • Any historical controversies or legal issues

Challenge: Sifting through massive amounts of media data while ensuring they didn’t overlook critical reports.

Outcome: They obtained a structured media analysis highlighting reputational risks and previously unnoticed concerns.

3. Brand Intelligence – Understanding Social Media Perception

The firm needed to assess how the company was perceived online, especially in social media discussions. They created Brand Intelligence Collectors to analyze:

  • Social media conversations about the company
  • Customer sentiment, feedback, and complaints
  • Industry-related discussions involving the brand

Challenge: Differentiating between minor concerns and potential reputation risks that could affect the merger.

Outcome: In under two minutes, they received a brand perception report with raw data included, helping them understand how the company was viewed by the public and industry peers.

4. Risk Intelligence – Dark Web, Leaked Data, and Corruption Checks

Hidden risks such as leaked information, regulatory violations, or undisclosed connections were a major concern. They used the Risk Intelligence Collector to scan:

  • Dark web forums for leaked company data
  • Adverse media reports and legal violations
  • Corruption and crime databases

Challenge: Ensuring they weren’t missing critical risk factors that could compromise the deal.

Outcome: The firm uncovered unexpected risks, including leaked employee data and mentions in legal disputes that had not been disclosed.

5. Social Media Intelligence – Profiling Business and Executives

To ensure they had a complete understanding of key individuals, the firm created Social Media Intelligence Collectors to analyze:

  • The company’s engagement and public interactions
  • Executives' and shareholders’ social media activity
  • Any patterns that could indicate reputational or compliance risks

Challenge: Finding relevant data quickly without manually searching different platforms.

Outcome: They identified potential concerns in executive communication patterns and engagement trends that required further review.

6. Relationship Mapping & Risk Analysis in the Workspace

With large amounts of collected data, the firm needed a structured way to analyze relationships and connections. Using Golden Owl’s Workspace, they:

  • Mapped relationships between executives, shareholders, and external entities
  • Identified conflicts of interest and undisclosed partnerships
  • Conducted cross-referenced risk analysis

Challenge: Ensuring they could seamlessly connect financial data, media insights, and hidden relationships while minimizing manual effort and the risk of human omission.

Outcome: The firm uncovered previously unknown affiliations/engagements and received a comprehensive risk intelligence report, revealing hidden vulnerabilities.

Results & Impact

Within 30 minutes, the firm achieved:

  • A deep assessment of the reputation of the brand and executives, uncovering critical insights from media, social platforms, and risk intelligence sources.
  • A complete risk assessment combining financial, media, risk, and brand intelligence.
  • Identification of hidden risks that could have been missed in traditional due diligence.
  • A structured, fast and automated intelligence process saving time and resources.
  • Improved decision-making with a detailed report supporting their merger strategy.

The firm continues to integrate Golden Owl’s intelligence tools for ongoing risk monitoring and future M&A transactions.

 

Conclusion

By using Golden Owl’s intelligence solutions, the M&A firm significantly enhanced its due diligence process, allowing them to:

  • Achieve better merger conditions for their clients by uncovering hidden vulnerabilities that strengthened negotiations.
  • Detect critical insights impossible to find through human investigation, ensuring a more comprehensive risk assessment.
  • Proactively manage existing risks before they escalated into significant issues.
  • Complete in-depth risk assessments in minutes instead of weeks, saving expert resources and reducing manual workload.
  • Uncover financial, reputational, and compliance risks efficiently.
  • Access intelligence beyond traditional data sources for a more holistic analysis.
  • Make well-informed decisions with a structured, data-driven approach.

Golden Owl’s platform enabled the firm to conduct a thorough, efficient, and proactive risk analysis, ensuring they had all necessary insights before finalizing the merger.