Boutique advisory firm Drachman M&A Co. relies on the security and efficiency of an Ideals data room for its billion-dollar M&A practice
Advisory
Industry
Advisory
Overview
Drachman M&A Co. is the top M&A advisory for the US outdoor advertising industry. It has recently expanded its service offerings to the high-growth self-storage sector.
The company considered several data room providers for its M&A transactions before choosing Ideals because of the security features and overall ease of use. “The platform’s combination of security and functionality met our needs far better than other providers we considered,” says CEO Max Drachman.
The context
Founded in 2021, Drachman M&A Co is a boutique advisory firm based in Tucson, focusing on M&A for outdoor advertising, self-storage and tower assets.
The company works on deals worth up to $1 billion or more, with projects involving complex documentation including financial statements, legal agreements, marketing materials, and other client data. The team needed an online platform with advanced security protocols to ensure that deal information was only shared with authorized users.
“Confidentiality is absolutely critical in our line of work, especially when managing sensitive client data and proprietary information,” says Max.
Key challenges
The company needed a user-friendly, high-security portal so the team could manage multiple projects at various stages. It was essential that data and client privacy were protected, and that there could be no unauthorized disclosure that might compromise trust or legal requirements.
Their initial needs were:
- A secure central document repository
- Different permission levels to control access
- Tools to monitor activity
- State-of-the-art security protocols.
During the initial evaluation, Max explained that Ideals offered a better user experience than other VDR providers he considered. “It was much easier to set up a data room in Ideals and ensure confidentiality by quickly configuring the different permission levels,” he said.
Solution
Having chosen to utilize Ideals for all its M&A transactions, the Drachman team was able to:
- Quickly upload a wide range of documents
- Set up groups and assign specific permissions to users
- Use the drag-and-drop feature to easily create folders and organize content
- Customize the branding and include project photos.
“The VDR facilitated seamless communication and data sharing during due diligence,” said Max. “This enabled our team to keep track of the necessary documents, monitor buyer activity, and collaborate more effectively with stakeholders. It has made the deal process far easier to manage.”
The future
On an average day, the Drachman team manages the VDR with around 10 buyers and several sellers involved in each transaction.
“Ideals has streamlined many of our processes and that’s saved the team so much time, especially on document management and communication.” says Max.
Asked to name the top three benefits of using Ideals, he lists:
- Buyer activity tracking, essential for gauging levels of interest and engagement
- Including the company branding and project visuals, giving a more professional image
- Group and permissions setup, ensuring only authorized users gain access.
”The VDR has provided significant operational efficiencies, reducing the need for back-and-forth emails and physical document exchange,” he adds.
When asked if he would recommend an Ideals VDR, he immediately replies: “We already do!”
