GDPR Compliance & Due Diligence for M&A Transactions

With the implementation of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 25, thousands of companies doing business in the EU are now confronting onerous new compliance obligations and a heightened awareness of data privacy and security law issues. In the transactional sphere, data protection considerations are taking an increasingly prominent role in M&A deals as counterparties evaluate each other’s compliance posture to assess potential financial and reputational risks. These developments have had a disproportionate impact in the M&A context, where previously data protection concerns have taken a back seat to other legal considerations.

In this presentation, BakerHostetler partner Melinda McLellan and associate Seth Engel will address key privacy and data security law issues that impact M&A transactions, from diligence to closing.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify recent trends in M&A practice and the how data protection considerations have changed the game
2. Analyze the new EU GDPR’s impact on the legal and regulatory landscape
3. Ask the right questions early in the M&A process to evaluate a target company’s compliance posture
4. Get practical suggestions and best practices when handling data privacy issues in an M&A transaction