Artificial intelligence (AI) is a “disruptor” – it is driving the evolution, and even the redundancy, of many existing practices and methods of transacting business across the spectrum of industry sectors. AI’s potential to create change brings with it significant risks and rewards.
Here, we describe the relevance of AI in the context of our Corporate Practice, for both us and our clients.
AI Companies
We apply knowledge and experience drawn from across the range of different financing sources to assist AI companies, often young businesses experiencing rapid growth, to identify and understand the most appropriate sources of capital for growth, not just from traditional routes – such as private equity or venture capital, global equity and capital markets or debt and related financial instruments – but also from emerging sources, such as crowdfunding and Initial Coin Offerings. In implementing investment transactions for our clients, our corporate finance know-how, combined with our understanding of the challenges and needs of AI businesses, helps us understand and prioritize what is important and ensure our clients take investment on the most appropriate terms and with the right protections in place.
Investors and Lenders
For private equity and venture capital investors, as well as for lenders, our familiarity with emerging AI technologies helps us not only to understand business within the sector, as well as sector terminology, but also to appreciate what factors underpin the value of a particular technology. With that knowledge, we can focus due diligence and ensure that finance is provided on the most relevant terms.
Corporate Department Resources
As AI drives evolution in deal execution and risk assessment in the corporate environment, we are committed to maintaining a comprehensive knowledge of the capabilities (and limitations) of the evolving spectrum of available AI resources, so that we know which AI products can most appropriately be deployed to meet the individual needs of our clients, and can advise our clients accordingly. In performing our services for clients, we can use AI to help them obtain competitive advantage and success through:
- Improving risk assessment and valuation
- Maximizing efficiency and value from legal spend
- Minimizing deal execution timescales
- Preserving and enhancing deal value
We can help buyers and investors benefit from the deployment of data analysis software to enhance approaches to due diligence and risk assessment, improving speed, coverage and value.
We can also help sellers to improve sale preparations and preserve value through the sale process, though the use of AI tools to analyse and sort unstructured contract data into relevant categories, and in analyzing data room content ahead of marketing to prospective buyers, so as to facilitate:
- Rapid and early identification of issues
- Assessment of the impact of identified issues on value or timing
- Formulation of strategies to address identified issues
- Maintenance of control by avoiding unwelcome surprises emerging from buyer due diligence