Deals

An App for Finding the Perfect M&A Match

Advisers are using mobile tools to bring together buyers and sellers

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Manuel Baigorri

August 21, 2014 at 8:18 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the August 25, 2014 issue of businessweek.

There are apps for dating, shopping, and hailing cabs. Now there are apps for matching companies for takeovers. Free applications created by MergersClub and Intralinks Holdings’ DealNexus are attracting investment bankers and private equity firms looking for deals. They’re especially useful for foraging in remote areas where advisers have few contacts, says Alfredo Arahuetes, dean of Comillas Pontifical University’s business school in Madrid, where MergersClub is based. “It’s like an online dating website,” he says. “It can help bankers find the perfect match.”

M&A advisers list potential sellers and buyers on the sites, and offer descriptions of their clients and what attributes they’re looking for without identifying companies. The deals are typically small to midsize. DealNexus lists transactions of as much as $500 million in value, says Philip Whitchelo, the company’s vice president for strategy and product marketing. Members of the site who want more information must pay for a premium service.