Leveraging DealRoom for Sell-Side Success

At DealRoom, we understand that every customer's M&A process is unique. That's why we empower you to customize your deal process to best suit your needs. If you find yourself on the sell-side of an M&A deal, here are some valuable insights into how similar customers have harnessed the power of DealRoom. We've also compiled some tips and tricks to streamline and optimize your experience.

A Sell-Side Use Case

One effective approach within DealRoom, especially for sell-side deals, is to utilize the Requests tab strategically. Here's a scenario to consider:

Imagine you're managing a sell-side deal involving multiple potential buyers, such as Apple, Google, and Intel. To keep things organized and secure, you can:

Create a Pre-Launch Data Request Worklist: This list can be used to populate the data room with relevant documentation buyers will request. You can prepare by setting this up before they're invited into the room. You can also align your data room's folder structure with your worklists, making access super easy and organized.
- As an Investment Banker, you can use this list for "staging" by having your client (the seller) put documents here before you then add it to a request from the buyer.
Create Buyer-Specific Worklists: Develop distinct worklists for your internal team and each buyer (e.g., Apple Worklist, Google Worklist, Intel Worklist). Leverage DealRoom's robust permission settings to create a dedicated group for each buyer. This way, you can grant them access solely to view and modify their specific worklist. Similarly, restrict access for your internal team, ensuring they can only see and manage the internal worklist. This approach enhances privacy and control over information visibility.
Implement Subworklists: Within each buyer's worklist, consider establishing subworklists corresponding to different departments or categories. This structured setup streamlines collaboration and ensures that each department can focus on their relevant tasks.

Tip: The worklists, subworklists and data room folder structure can all be imported via excel using our template. If you prefer this method, please see this article for reference: How do I import a request list?.



To set up this stucture, follow these simple steps:

Creating Worklists & Subworklists

Navigate to the Requests tab at the top.
Click the + button next to the text "Worklists".



Enter the name of the worklist (Buyer Name).
Click Create.
To create a subworklist, hover over the just created worklist and click the 3 dots.
Select Add category from the menu.

Tip: For each buyer, if they have the information already in an excel sheet that they'd like to import into the system, you can do this by following the steps in this article: How do I import a request list? You can set up the folder structure this way as well.

Setting Permissions

Privacy is important which is why we've created granular permissions inside DealRoom. Let's set it up to where each buyer can only see their designated request list.

Navigate to the Permissions tab at the top.
If you haven't already, create a group for each buyer by clicking the + icon next to the text Groups.
Enter their name and then click the Add button.



Once you have the groups created, select all groups from the left menu and then click Requests permissions at the top.
Check the box for the worklist pertaining to each buyer and uncheck any others worklists that you don't want them to have access to.

Note: In File Permissions, you can also manage access down to the individual file level. For more information on this, refer to this article: How do I set permissions?

Monitoring Buyer Activity

You can utilize the audit log to follow which buyers are logging in, viewing, uploading or downloading documents, and many other activities. To do this, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Reports tab at the top.
Select Audit log from the left menu.
Filter by which activity and group you'd like to view.

Investment Banker Example

Here are some step-by-step directions on how an investment bank can use DealRoom for sell-side due diligence.

Start by informing your client that DealRoom is part of your diligence management process. DealRoom expedites time to close and reduces overall workload by combining diligence management software with a VDR. Once agreed, contact your success manager to open a room for this transaction as soon as possible.
The onboarding process will begin with a Customer Success Manager (optional) who, with your internal deal team, will go over DealRoom’s functionality and how to best utilize it to fit your process. During this meeting, you can establish how to use the functionality and who is responsible for managing different action items in the room.
Import your pre-launch information request list, create your folder structure, and use the room for initial document collection. A CSM can have this set up for you, taking any hassle out of the process.
Have a 10-minute call explaining to your client how they will be working with you on the platform to gather and organize initial diligence items. Everything is in one place, making communication and collaboration more efficient!
As buyers are granted access to DealRoom, upload their initial diligence lists to the room. Next, have a short 5-minute call explaining you are inviting them into the data room where their diligence list has been uploaded. All additional diligence items will be run through the platform and submitted as new requests.
Manage buyer and seller interactions on the platform after setting expectations with your management team.

Data After the Deal is Closed

Once a deal is finished, you can easily download all necessary information such as documents, folders, and requests off of a DealRoom. Here's an article on how to do that: How do I download entire rooms from DealRoom?.


By adopting this method, you can efficiently manage sell-side deals with multiple buyers, ensuring that data is organized, accessible, and secure. For further assistance or to explore more customization options, our support team is here to help.

Relevant Articles:

How do I import a request list?
How do I download entire rooms from DealRoom?
How do I track activities in the Audit log?

Updated on: 04/03/2024