For decades, the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has been characterized by complexity, speed, and secrecy. In this fast-moving environment, having access to accurate and timely deal data can make or break decisions for investors, advisors, and consultants. But access to that information has traditionally come with a high price tag — often reserved for major investment banks, large consulting firms, and well-funded private equity funds.
Now, a new player in the market, Dealert, is aiming to change that by making comprehensive M&A deal intelligence more accessible and affordable for smaller firms, independent professionals, and researchers.
The Problem With Traditional M&A Databases
The existing landscape of M&A intelligence platforms is dominated by large, well-established names. These databases offer vast amounts of data, but they are also notoriously expensive and, at times, cumbersome to use. For independent advisors, boutique investment firms, or early-career finance professionals, those platforms are often out of reach, both financially and in terms of usability.
A private equity professional with over 14 years of experience, encountered these barriers first-hand. “There were plenty of solutions out there,” he says, “but they all seemed built for the largest institutions. I kept asking myself why the same quality of data couldn’t be made more user-friendly and affordable for everyone else.”
This observation eventually led to the creation of Dealert — a platform designed with the specific goal of leveling the playing field in M&A data access.
What Is Dealert?
Launched as a response to these challenges, Dealert positions itself as a comprehensive M&A deal database tailored for investment professionals who don’t have the resources of a multinational corporation behind them. It provides information on deals across all sectors and regions, covering transactions from small domestic acquisitions to large cross-border deals.
The platform’s structure is relatively simple: users can search for deals by sector, geography, deal size, or buyer and seller type, and they have access to valuation multiples where available. In addition, Dealert offers deal alerts, allowing users to track new transactions that fit specific criteria in real time.
Who’s Using It?
While the platform was initially built with small and mid-sized private equity firms in mind, its user base has expanded. Today, it includes investment bankers, M&A advisors, strategy consultants, and academic researchers.
- Private equity teams use Dealert to track competitor activity, identify potential acquisition targets, and benchmark valuations in their sectors of interest.
- Advisors and investment bankers use the platform to find precedent transactions and deal comparables when putting together pitchbooks or advising clients.
- Consultants rely on it for industry research and market mapping.
- Researchers and students are also beginning to adopt Dealert, attracted by its affordability and comprehensive data.
The platform’s relatively low entry point, combined with a focus on usability, seems to have filled a gap between prohibitively expensive databases and free, but fragmented, public data sources.
How It Works
At its core, Dealert aggregates and structures publicly available deal data, combining automated data collection with human verification. The goal is to ensure that each deal listed on the platform is complete, accurate, and structured in a way that makes it easy to analyze.
Deals are tagged by industry, geography, deal size, and type of buyer and seller. Key financial metrics — such as enterprise value (EV), revenue multiples, and EBITDA multiples — are included wherever they can be verified.
One of the platform’s distinguishing features is its simplicity. There are no complex dashboards or overly technical interfaces. Users can perform advanced searches, filter results, and export data into Excel or CSV with minimal effort. According to early users, this simplicity is one of Dealert’s main advantages over legacy platforms.
Limitations and Challenges
While Dealert has been well-received, it’s not without limitations. The platform doesn’t (yet) offer the kind of in-depth analysis or predictive insights that larger, more expensive databases can provide. Additionally, while its data coverage is global, it’s only as comprehensive as the sources it can verify.
Another point of differentiation — and limitation — is that Dealert currently focuses on transactions that are publicly disclosed. As with most M&A databases, private, undisclosed deals remain out of reach. The team behind Dealert acknowledges this and says they are continually working to expand their data sources and improve coverage.
The Broader Trend: Democratizing Financial Intelligence
Dealert’s emergence fits into a broader trend in financial services: the democratization of professional-grade tools that were once only available to large firms. Just as low-cost trading platforms and affordable portfolio analysis tools have disrupted other areas of finance, platforms like Dealert are aiming to do the same for M&A intelligence.
“Not everyone needs the bells and whistles of a $50,000 database subscription,” says Budakov-Shetelia. “But everyone does need reliable data, fast search capabilities, and the ability to act on information quickly. That’s what we’re focusing on.”
What’s Next for Dealert?
Looking ahead, Dealert plans to expand its offering with more advanced features. These include predictive analytics tools designed to help users spot sectoral trends and potential deal activity before transactions are announced. Additionally, the platform is developing tools to track transactions with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) themes — a growing focus area for investors and advisors alike.
There are also plans to introduce more benchmarking features, helping users compare valuations across sectors and time periods. But Budakov-Shetelia is quick to point out that the platform’s focus will remain on simplicity and affordability. “Our goal isn’t to build the most complex product. It’s to build the most useful product for professionals who just want clear, actionable data.”
The Verdict
In a market long dominated by expensive, enterprise-level platforms, Dealert offers a refreshingly pragmatic alternative. It may not replace large, established databases for every use case, but it seems well-positioned to serve a growing segment of professionals who need accurate deal intelligence without the corporate price tag or complexity.
As deal-making continues to accelerate across sectors and geographies, platforms like Dealert could play an increasingly important role — not just for large institutions, but for the countless smaller firms and independent professionals who help drive M&A activity behind the scenes.
