Mergermarket is pleased to present The Race For Data, published in association with S&P Global Market Intelligence.
PE dealmakers are in the midst of a perfect storm. Firms face not only increasingly fierce competition for targets, but also unprecedented levels of macroeconomic uncertainty. The ability to act with speed and certainty in this volatile environment is of the utmost importance.
To do this, PE firms are increasingly tapping into big data and data analytics to test their investment theses, gain insights and execute deals at pace. Based on a survey of PE executives, this report aims to better understand how PE firms are using technology now and how they plan to employ it in the future.
Key findings include:
- The key factor motivating respondents’ investment in data analytics is their desire to identify emerging trends in markets more quickly, which is cited by 50% as their number-one concern.
- Though only 53% of respondents say they use alternative data to inform their investment decision-making process, the largest proportion (37%) identify this as the most valuable single data source.
- Overall, 43% of respondents report that their firm’s data management functions are mostly outsourced to third-party technology providers. Among mid-size respondents – those with AUM anywhere between US$6bn-US$25bn, as opposed to the smaller and giant firms either side of that range – that share rises to 90%.
