How experienced CEO Ray Hood accelerates technology M&A deals using Ideals VDR

Technology has radically transformed how M&A deals are done. Virtual data rooms (VDRs) in particular have played a crucial role in improving accuracy, boosting collaboration and streamlining due diligence.

Ray Hood, co-Founder and Managing Director of the real estate and development company Seneca Group, has been at the forefront of these shifts. Having led dozens of deals involving both public and private sector companies, he’s developed a deep understanding of the complexities involved in managing M&A transactions. 

He’s also gained a unique perspective on the value that VDRs bring to the dealmaking process—particularly when it comes to managing due diligence.

“Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there wasn’t a good way to manage the due diligence process,” he recalled in our latest Ideals Insider Live webinar. “We had to use a lot of systems. I remember when the books for an offering had to be printed simultaneously in New York, London and other markets. It was an extremely primitive process.”

Accelerating dealmaking with VDR technology

Over the past six years, Ray has embraced digital tools—particularly Ideals, which he began using for managing acquisitions and sales. Over time, he’s come to adopt Ideals VDR for all his deals.

One such transaction, which closed in August 2024, involved Blue Yonder, a supply chain software company with $1.3 billion in revenue, acquiring One Network, valued at $839 million, where Ray sits on the board. With 120 people on the acquisition team, Ray quickly recognized the need for a tool that could help maintain a clear and accurate audit trail throughout the due diligence and Q&A processes.

“From the start, I proposed that we use Ideals,” he said. “In fact, I didn’t really give them a choice. It allowed us to control the process tightly and answer questions in a non-linear fashion.”

A solution dealmakers can trust

Ideals helped manage the flow of sensitive information by ensuring the right people had access to the correct documents. The system’s advanced security functionality was vital, allowing Ray’s team to track who was accessing the information and whether the documents were being used effectively.

“Our ability to keep up with the process was 100% dependent on Ideals,” he explained. “There’s no way we could have done it with some of the other systems I’ve used, which were very clumsy. One of the law firms for the buyer tried to get us to use their in-house system, but we overwhelmed it with data, and it collapsed. That was the end of that, and Ideals was the system from then on.

“It’s not often that you see the seller, especially when you’re much smaller, taking over the process from a management perspective. But the buyer was smart and realized that this was the better way to go. I believe they’re now using Ideals too.”

Ideals allows Ray’s team to track and manage complex processes efficiently across time zones, so the right people are engaged at the right time. 

“The system has a lot of fine-grained capabilities that allow you to manage information so that people get what they need, but they don’t see what they don’t need,” he explained. “That’s probably the biggest change I noticed when I started using Ideals, compared to systems I’d used in the past. The fine-grained nature of the access control was a major improvement.”

Shaping the future of M&A

With vast amounts of data in one place, Ray’s team could use AI to streamline tasks that would have otherwise taken a long time for a small team to complete. This included drafting documents and performing quick analyses. “With the data centralized, we were able to use AI to speed up basic tasks,” he said. “It made things much more efficient.”

But he also cautioned against the overuse of AI tools in the dealmaking process—particularly while they are in their early stages of development. “You still have to treat it like a tool,” he warned. “You can drill a hole with it. But you can also drill a hole in your hand by accident.”

As AI tools evolve, accelerating deals by automating repetitive tasks and analyzing data faster, so does Ideals. The platform is continuously enhancing its capabilities, adding features like intelligent document redaction and improved search functions that make it easier for dealmakers to operate securely. 

In doing so, we’re helping businesses navigate the complexities of modern M&A, driving more efficient, collaborative and commercially successful transactions.