Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

EU GDPR and M&A: practical guidance on due diligence, lawful bases and disclosures, data rooms, international transfers, warranties/indemnities and post-completion integration across the EEA

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

The impact of the EU GDPR on M&A transactions

Overview of legislation and key M&A considerations

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR), took direct effect and became fully enforceable across all EU Member States on 25 May 2018. It delivered significant changes to EU data protection law and superseded Directive 95/46/EC (the Data Protection Directive).

The EU GDPR regulates the processing of personal data, confers rights on data subjects whose information is handled, and imposes obligations on controllers and processors alike. It is a complex, principle‑driven regime. Seven core data protection principles underpin the EU GDPR, set out in Article 5, and controllers dealing with personal data must adhere to them. See Practice Note: EU GDPR—data protection principles.

Personal data and technology are now central to most organisations, as the majority handle information relating to employees, customers/clients, suppliers and others. Data is a strategic and valuable corporate asset and can therefore be decisive to the valuation of a target group or target business in an M&A transaction. There will be some M&A transactions where personal data...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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