Datasite sponsored the first edition of M&A Connect in Brazil, an event entirely dedicated to the M&A market that brought together the full community of dealmakers in one place — CEOs, entrepreneurs, corporate investors, M&A executives, CFOs, investment funds, banks, and advisory firms. The panel promoted by Datasite, “Navigating Cross-Border M&A: Opportunities, Challenges, and Best Practices,” was moderated by Jorge Mira, Senior Vice President at Datasite, and featured Flavio Picciotto (Co-Head of M&A at Itaú BBA), Rafaela Meirelles Di Dio (Corporate, Capital Markets & M&A Legal Director at Ambev), and Evandro Monteiro (Senior Director of M&A at Bunge).

According to Jorge, “Successfully conducting an acquisition today requires clarity of purpose, speed of execution, and, above all, the ability to integrate cultures, people, and business models.” As geographic boundaries become increasingly fluid in the corporate world, Cross-Border M&A reaffirms its strategic role in driving business expansion and transformation. Explore the key takeaways from the panel below.

A New Look at Cross-Border Opportunities
Regardless of the economic climate, Brazil remains firmly on the radar of global investors, serving as a strategic geography for multi-sector transactions and portfolio repositioning. “You simply can’t ignore the opportunities in a country the size of Brazil,” emphasized Flavio.

Rafaela reinforced that inorganic growth has become an increasingly important tool for addressing structural gaps within companies. “We’ve had a long history of acquisitions, where we brought in capabilities we couldn’t develop internally — adding value through M&A.”

Evandro shared the perspective from agribusiness, a sector that continues to attract significant international interest. The global energy transition and the need for food security place Brazil in a position of leadership. “Brazil is the best place for this. Agribusiness here continues to attract — and will keep attracting — investment. Beyond food security, the world is undergoing an energy transition, and agribusiness will play a critical role, particularly in replacing fossil fuels with renewables.”

Culture Matters — Greatly!
Cultural integration was unanimously recognized as one of the greatest challenges in Cross-Border M&A. Rafaela shared practical examples where the success of a deal depended on maintaining the identity and DNA of the acquired company. “Especially in post-integration, the acquiring company doesn’t want to destroy what made the target valuable. So you need to integrate properly, identify cultural divergences, and pay special attention to them.”

Flavio stressed that understanding the counterparty from the outset is essential, particularly in cross-border deals. “If you're involved in a cross-border transaction, you must rely on a local partner or advisor to navigate regulatory, legal, and cultural nuances.” He cited specific examples involving Japanese, Chinese, and Turkish stakeholders where local support proved critical to keeping the deal on track.

Due Diligence: The Cornerstone of a Successful Deal
When addressing due diligence, Jorge underscored its role as the most critical component in any transaction: “Whether the market is favorable or not, diligence is where you should focus your attention.”

Rafaela advocated for a robust, tailored audit process aligned with the realities of each sector and region. “Nobody wants to spend on due diligence, but it’s a vital investment that can save significantly in the future.”

Flavio was unequivocal: “Cutting corners will cost you. Due diligence is where deals are either made or broken.” He also emphasized the importance of coordinated effort across finance, legal, accounting, and commercial teams. “Without continuous oversight, the risk of misalignment increases — and so does the cost.”

Technology as a Competitive Edge
When discussing diligence challenges, Jorge highlighted how technology can serve as a strategic enabler — especially in cross-border deals.

With advanced features like Datasite’s integrated Q&A, teams can eliminate spreadsheet-based tracking and ensure full traceability and legal security within the platform. Automatic translation into 17+ languages allows documents originally in Portuguese to be read in Mandarin, French, and more — a critical feature for multi-jurisdictional deals. AI-powered redaction identifies and masks sensitive data in accordance with global privacy regulations like GDPR.

“Today, it's possible to track exactly who accessed a document, how long they spent reading each page, and whether a response was viewed — all in real time. This technology is already available on Datasite,” concluded Jorge.

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