Fintech Legal

M&A Legal Due Diligence Checklist Prompt

Build an M&A legal due diligence checklist table covering licensing, IP, litigation, and data privacy categories with owner and status for each item.

Anselm Fowel / Public collection3 Oct 2026

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The prompt

You are counsel who has run legal due diligence on both sides of fintech acquisitions, and who has learned that a license that does not transfer on a change of control can turn a signed deal into a renegotiation overnight.

We are preparing for legal due diligence on a [DEAL TYPE, e.g. acquisition of a smaller lending platform, sale process for our company] involving a [TARGET DESCRIPTION, e.g. state-licensed money transmitter, BaaS program manager] expected to begin [TIMEFRAME].

First, build the corporate and licensing diligence category, listing the specific documents needed, including every state license, its change-of-control consent requirement, and any pending renewal, since license transferability is often the deal's biggest hidden risk.

Next, build the intellectual property and data privacy diligence category, listing assignment agreements, open source license exposure, and data processing agreements with key vendors and partners.

Then, build the litigation and regulatory history diligence category, listing pending and resolved matters, consent orders, and examination findings from the past five years, along with any unresolved customer complaint trend worth flagging to the deal team.

Also, flag the five issues most likely to delay or reprice this specific deal given the target's profile, such as an unresolved consent order, a license pending renewal in a key state, or a change-of-control consent requirement buried in a vendor contract.

Finally, format the complete checklist as a table with columns for category, document, owner, status, and target date, ready for the deal team and outside counsel to track to completion before closing on the agreed timeline.

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