By PwC
Technology is no longer just an enabler in M&A – it is the business. Across private sector deals, strategic takeovers and government acquisitions or bailouts, technology due diligence has become mission-critical to deal success, with material financial, operational, regulatory and reputational risks for those who overlook it.
Recent transactions in East Africa across Financial Services, Commercial, and Industrial Products and Services, as well as government acquisitions of private entities, highlight how value is now concentrated in digital platforms, data, software, automation, digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and complex vendor ecosystems. Traditional financial and legal due diligence often fails to fully surface technology-driven risks that can erode value, delay integration, inflate post-deal costs or disrupt service delivery.
When executed effectively, technology due diligence protects acquirers from hidden cost exposures, operational failures, cyber and data breaches, regulatory blind spots and synergy or integration failure – factors that often determine whether deal value is realised or lost within the first 12–24 months.
The implication is clear: technology must be embedded as a core pillar of due diligence, informing deal pricing, strengthening risk management and underpinning post-deal execution and transformation.
“In an era where technology underpins enterprise value, deals that overlook technology due diligence risk destroying value before integration even begins,” says Brian Birungi, a senior associate at PwC Uganda.
