During a merger or acquisition (M&A), due diligence is the formal, investigative process where the acquiring organization conducts a comprehensive review of the target company. This phase is designed to uncover and assess all potential risks and liabilities before the transaction is finalized. For privacy, this includes a deep examination of the target's data processing activities, privacy policies, compliance with regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), data security controls, and any history of data breaches or enforcement actions. This comprehensive assessment informs the valuation of the deal, identifies necessary remediation efforts, and determines potential integration challenges. It is the most thorough review of privacy risks and gaps in the M&A lifecycle.

A. Transfer Impact Assessment (TIA) is a specific risk assessment required for international data transfers to ensure adequate data protection, not a comprehensive review of all privacy risks in an M&A.

B. Risk identification review is a generic term for an activity that is a component of due diligence. Due diligence is the formal, overarching M&A phase for this comprehensive review.

D. Integration is the post-acquisition phase where the two companies' operations are combined. The comprehensive risk review (due diligence) must occur before this stage to inform the decision to acquire.

1. Densmore

R. (2019). Privacy Program Management: Tools for Managing Privacy Within Your Organization (3rd ed.). IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals). In Chapter 7

"The Privacy Operational Life Cycle – Assess

" the section on Mergers and Acquisitions explicitly details that due diligence is the critical phase to "uncover and assess risks

including any that may arise from the target company’s privacy and security practices" (p. 218).

2. IAPP. (2021). Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) Body of Knowledge. Domain IV: Privacy Operational Life Cycle

Section C: Assess. This section outlines the key assessment activities for a privacy program

including conducting due diligence for "Mergers

acquisitions and divestitures."

3. Mullen

T. (2017). A privacy pro's M&A checklist. IAPP. This official IAPP resource outlines the M&A process

emphasizing that "The due diligence process is where the acquiring company gets to peek under the hood of the target company... to identify any privacy and security red flags."