Mergers & Acquisitions: Sellers and Buyers Are Not on Equal Footing in the Age of AI
By Sacha Vandermeersch, Co-Founder and CEO at Synergy AI
Europe’s M&A market is recovering, but the rebound is far from uniform. Aggregate deal value recorded its strongest first half in nearly two decades, driven by a handful of major transactions, while the mid-market remains under pressure. One figure should particularly concern business owners and their advisers: in Belgium, nearly one transaction in two now closes below the initial offer price, compared with roughly one in four ten years ago.
The explanation is not purely cyclical. It is also technological. And today, the advantage is still concentrated mainly on one side of the negotiating table.
Deal flow itself remains strong. Across Europe, a large number of entrepreneurs, many from the baby-boomer generation, are preparing to transfer ownership of their businesses.
This succession wave is sustaining a steady stream of small and mid-sized transactions, which account for the vast majority of European M&A activity by volume.
The balance of negotiating power has shifted
The latest M&A Monitor from Vlerick Business School shows that 49% of Belgian transactions close below the initial offer, compared with 27% a decade ago. One explanation highlighted by the report deserves particular attention: AI-assisted due diligence is allowing buyers to identify risks earlier and more comprehensively, strengthening their negotiating position.
Artificial intelligence is therefore no longer a future prospect in M&A. It is already embedded in the process, especially on the buy-side. The gap is increasingly less about valuation expectations than about preparation. Better-equipped buyers enter negotiations with a clearer map of operational, financial and compliance risks that sellers may not have fully anticipated. Every issue discovered late in the process can become leverage for a price adjustment or additional conditions.
Europe’s complexity amplifies the imbalance
This asymmetry is reinforced by the nature of European transactions. A European deal is not simply a US transaction conducted in another language. It involves different legal systems, corporate registries, ownership structures and, in many cases, several regulatory frameworks. Financial and shareholder data are neither structured nor accessible in the same way across jurisdictions.
That fragmentation affects timelines, increases due diligence costs and ultimately influences valuation outcomes. For advisers, investors and corporate development teams working across Europe, managing multiple data sources and regulatory environments has become part of everyday dealmaking.
This is precisely where AI can create value, not by replacing judgement, but by reducing the administrative friction surrounding it.
From data collection to decision support
AI can identify and score potential targets using official company registries, automate sanctions and beneficial ownership checks, accelerate document preparation and help structure information throughout the transaction lifecycle. The objective is not to remove advisers from the process, but to allow them to spend more time where their expertise matters most: assessing strategic fit, managing negotiations and advising clients.
The secure data room is also evolving. Traditionally viewed as a repository opened relatively late in a transaction, it is increasingly becoming a central working environment from the outset. When integrated into AI-enabled workflows, it can become a continuously updated source of truth in which information is validated, enriched and documented over time.
For mid-market boutiques, family offices and corporate development teams, this matters. Access to structured information and disciplined processes is no longer reserved for large investment banks with extensive analyst teams.
Compliance and transparency cannot be afterthoughts
Efficiency alone is not enough. AI can only be useful in M&A if compliance is embedded into the workflow from the start. Sanctions screening, beneficial ownership verification, data residency requirements and GDPR considerations cannot simply be added as final checkpoints.
The same applies to transparency. Confidence in AI-generated outputs depends on knowing which sources were used, what was produced by AI and where human expertise has validated the result. AI may accelerate analysis, but responsibility for recommendations and decisions must remain human.
A tool for discipline, not a shortcut
The real promise of AI in mid-market M&A is therefore not automation for its own sake. It is the ability to bring greater discipline, structure and traceability to processes that have traditionally relied heavily on individual experience and institutional memory.
As long as the preparation advantage remains unevenly distributed, it will continue to shape price negotiations and deal outcomes. The firms that combine AI efficiency with human judgement, transparent sourcing and compliant workflows will be better equipped to navigate the next generation of European M&A.
