The post-closing period is when companies are most vulnerable to hacks. The deal announcement might have attracted the attention of malicious hackers at a time that large amounts of data are changing hands.

Peter A. Emmi, partner and leader in the Technology Transactions practice within Reed Smith’s Global Corporate Group has some clear advice for dealmakers: “Do your homework and prepare well.” Key steps include securing virtual data rooms (VDRs) and only using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in private networks.

Emmi joins Aurelia Seidlhofer, Mergermarket’s Senior Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) correspondent, and Dealcast host Julie-Anna Needham to discuss the risks around dealmaking, including AI systems generating hard-to-spot mistakes or copyright issues. They also discuss some of the opportunities.

• Why are junior staff seeing a bigger impact on their workflows than their senior colleagues?
• Is AI a game-changer for dealmakers? Or is it more about incremental changes?
• How can AI be used in deal sourcing, due diligence and in drafting legal documents?

All this and more in this week’s Dealcast M&A Tales, which looks at the human side of M&A.