How LegalSifter Became MSA’s Most Important Vendor in the Contract Space

How MSA came to use AI to review and generate advisory for their contracts

Our Partner, Legal Sifter, have an interesting Case Study to share of how Artificial Intelligence was used by an inhouse legal department to:

• Evaluate Contracts before signing

• Obtain advisory on each contract ahead of signing

• Organise their Contracts and generate valuable meta data from almost 20,000 fields for all their Contracts

MSA AT A GLANCE

Industry: Safety Manufacturer

Employees: 5,000+

Locations: 40+

Regions: US, Europe, Asia, Latin America

Revenue: $1.4 Billion (2021)

CHALLENGE

• Manual operating process meant each lawyer at MSA selected their own contract language, sometimes using a shared PowerPoint with common contract clauses.

• A decentralized system that lacked a comprehensive, efficient, or even a consistent way of doing things.

• Signed contracts were stored everywhere. From a shared drive to a quasi-contract management system, MSA lacked a single source of truth about their contractual commitments. MSA knew buying a software solution like a contract lifecycle management solution (CLM) was not the answer, because the solution had to come with an improved and consistent process.

Temperature’s Rising

The growing importance of ESG to EMEA M&A

The dangers of climate change and the need for the world to shift to a more sustainable and less carbon-intensive economic model have never been clearer. It is no wonder that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) concerns have risen up the corporate agenda in recent years from an afterthought to an essential business function, with the COVID-19 pandemic proving a major accelerant.

1. Less than half of dealmakers are conducting ESG due diligence on target supply chains

Although a significant number of those polled (46 percent) have undertaken ESG due diligence on a target’s supply chain, this is still less than half of respondents. This opens bidders up to potential risk. Private equity (PE) and other financial sponsors are ahead on this issue, with 65 percent saying they conduct ESG due diligence on supply chains compared to only 27 percent of corporates.

2. Room for improvement in ESG due diligence data

Even though ESG has risen up the agenda for M&A practitioners in Europe, there is still room for improvement in terms of the availability and quality of data available. Only 16 percent of respondents say the quality and comprehensiveness of ESG due diligence data available to them in their last deal was “very good,” with 30 percent merely deeming it “acceptable” and a further 19 percent who say it was "poor" or "very poor."

MLS Enforce - DEAL Centre for Energy

DEAL Centre for Energy

Energy deals are complex, with resource-intensive disclosures that can impede the dealmaking process. Sophisticated CAD files, large well-core log files, seismic data, detailed production facility maps - effective management of these documents ensures that internal teams and counterparties feel minimal friction in moving your deal forward.

With 25 years of experience facilitating M&A transactions in the energy sector, Intralinks provides you unparalleled insights and expertise to manage your deal. At the core of our model is a team of subject matter experts, a group that’s supported some of the largest and most complex energy deals in recent history

You don’t have to go it alone. Your energy-focused deal team will help you harness the most advanced VDR on the market for each critical phase of your transaction.

1.Automated outreach for efficient prospecting

2.Custom energy templates to set up your VDR

3.Seamless energy file uploads and secure viewing

4.Advanced Q&A for buyer communications

Request your DealCentre for Energy demo today.

Prediction: Here's Where Global M&A Is Heading in H2 2022

By Brian Hwang - 4 AUGUST 2022

Despite challenges, our data indicates global dealmakers are taking aggressive deal postures.

SS&C Intralinks has been a leader in applying cutting-edge technologies to due diligence and financial transactions for over 20 years. To date, over USD 34 trillion in global capital markets events, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), equity/debt, fundraising and restructuring deals, have utilized our services for successful execution.

From an M&A perspective, due diligence on over 13,000 transactions is executed through our platform annually, giving us tremendous proprietary insights into future market movements.

MLS CREATE - CONTRACT AUTOMATION

SUMMARY

• Coded Contracts

• Legal Contract Automation & Generation

• Approval Workflow

• Automation

• Automated Email

• Notifications

• E-signature and Contract

• Status Tracking

THE CHALLENGE

Manual legal contract generation of critical documents like contracts, letters and reports, can become a bottleneck for progressing business deals.

Document templates can be time-consuming to find and outdated – one that doesn’t accurately reflect the current position of the business or is not on brand. Business users will often turn to emails and phone calls to get a ‘quick response’ from the legal team. The legal team responds, but with the same questions each time: “Who is requesting this?”, “What is the purpose?”. Considering the hundreds of documents requested from the legal team, we realize the number of repetitive and tedious hours spent each year when higher impact work should be prioritized instead. Furthermore, after stakeholders have signed the completed document, finalized contracts may not be centralised in a single repository.

MLS Enforce - "Don't buy CLM."

Don't buy CLM. 

Contract lifecycle management is the worst-performing segment in legal tech. For most organizations, purchasing CLM software and administering it on their own is a failing strategy. They don't have the time or the expertise.

Avoid the Curve of CLM Disappointment.

Most of the 200+ CLMs on the market have plenty of features. Unfortunately, organizations seldom have the capacity to manage the features or the contracts themselves after implementation, leading to failure.

Contract Administration as a Service: Find your contracts in 10 seconds or less and never miss a date.

Curating contracts is not core to your business, but it is core to ours. With MLS Enforce, our contract administration team becomes your contract administration team.

Your team expects to find its contracts in 10 seconds or less and never miss a date. If your data isn't at least 99% accurate, we'll fix it at no additional cost.

TechValidate Security Facts

We asked Dealmakers about Security. Here’s What They Told Us…

In our latest survey using Techvalidate, a leading third-party research provider, we reached out to dealmakers for their perspectives on Security and Intralinks. What did they say?

• 79% agreed that the highest level of security is a priority when selecting a VDR.

• 93% confirmed there is no VDR provider their organization trusts more than Intralinks to keep deal data safe.

• And a full 100% said they always trust the security of Intralinks to keep their team’s deal data safe at all times.

In all, we’ve collected 20 new, third-party verified proof points and customer testimonial quotes – known as “TechFacts” – touting the importance of data security and confirming how Intralinks is delivering on our security promise with customers.

Deal Services. NEW!

Deal Services

Relying on MLS Intralinks to complete repetitive, labor-intensive tasks allows you to more effectively manage your resources, reduce cost, mitigate risk and increase project velocity.

Our team of experts can help you in four critical areas: Redaction, Contract Review, Transactional Support, Advanced Reporting, Contract Generation and Translation.

VIRTUAL DATA ROOMS - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - AUTOMATION

Private Equity Fundraising Outlook for 2022

As private capital fundraising continues to surge, general partners (GPs) need to find ways to stand out in the competitive market – plus manage limited partners' (LPs’) increasing demands for data and transparency. How can fund managers step up their game?

Intralinks, In association with Private Equity Wire, recently hosted a panel of industry experts to discuss the evolution of fundraising over the next 12 months, as well as LPs’ allocation preferences and how technology plays a role in the fundraising process.

Watch this webinar replay to understand current LP sentiment and plans, the new fundraising playing field, and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for GPs. Among the topics our panel explores in this eye-opening discussion:

• Current key strategies of interest for LPs – Where are we seeing inflows and why?

• What are some of the best tactics/best practices managers ought to be thinking about when fundraising in 2022?

• What emerging trends and focus areas are we seeing for new funds in the market?

• How is technology playing a role in the fundraising process?

• New ways of engaging with GPs – Are we seeing the true digitization of investor onboarding or just an adaptation of the norm?

• What trends are we seeing in ODD – Have we hit a tipping point with LPs searching for better (and uniform) ESG standards?

Length:
48 minutes

Speakers:

Jacob Comer, Partner, NovaQuest Capital Management

Scott Beechert, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, Granby Capital Management, LLC 

Meghan McAlpine, Senior Director, Strategy and Product Marketing,  Alternative Investments, SS&C Intralinks

How Will the Risk of Recession Impact M&A Trends?

Intralinks recently partnered with the Financial Times to host a webinar titled “How Will the Risk of Recession Impact M&A Trends?” The expert panel discussed current global economic volatility and how dealmakers are responding to uncertainty. Key discussion points included:

• Rising inflation and funding costs

• Key lessons to be learned to ensure industry growth going into 2023

• How are private equity investment strategies evolving in the hunt for returns

• Primary ESG considerations when contemplating a deal

Watch this essential on-demand webinar to watch these top thought leaders’ share their outlook for M&A dealmaking.

Speakers

• Massimiliano Ottochian – Group Head of M&A, Generali

• Marco Caggiano – Co-Head of North America M&A, JP Morgan

• Mena Lindlar – Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Philips

• Brian Healy – Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Americas, Morgan Stanley

• Ortenca Aliaj – M&A Correspondent, Financial Times (Moderator)

Duration

• 50 minutes