M&A data room — live in 5 minutes.
Peony is a virtual data room (VDR) for sell-side and buy-side M&A — built for $1M–$50M transactions. AI-powered Q&A, multi-bidder permissions, page-level analytics, and built-in e-signatures. A typical 9-month deal costs $720 on Peony — not $25,000 on legacy platforms.
24/7 dedicated support for enterprise deals
Close mid-market deals faster — without the enterprise price tag
Legacy VDRs charge $25,000–$50,000 per deal and take days to provision. A typical 9-month sell-side with 2 admins costs $720 on Peony — not $25,000. Enterprise security, granular multi-bidder permissions, structured Q&A workflows, customizable AI knowledge base, and action-level analytics — all included.
What legacy VDRs charge for one M&A deal
Per-page pricing & add-on fees
$25,000+
per deal
Intralinks
AI document chat, per-MB fees
$25,000+
per deal
Per-GB storage pricing
$25,000+
per project
Sterling
Multilingual deal support
$10,000+
per deal
Mid-market M&A data rooms
$5,000+
per project
Document DRM & watermarking
$500/mo
Same 9-month deal
$25,000–$50,000
Per-page fees, storage caps, and setup charges
What Peony includes — on every deal
Peony
All-in-one data room
$40/admin
per month
Typical 9-month deal
$720 total
2 admins × $40/mo × 9 months. No per-page or per-deal fees.
Deal teams and bankers deserve better tools
Legacy VDRs charge thousands per deal, take days to set up, and leave you blind to buyer engagement. Peony eliminates the friction so your team can focus on closing.
Overpriced per-deal licensing
Traditional VDRs charge $5,000–$25,000 per data room — pricing designed for $1B+ enterprise transactions, not $1M–$50M mid-market deals. A typical 9-month sell-side with 2 admins costs $720 on Peony vs. $25,000+ on legacy platforms — 97% less.
Manual document indexing
Organizing thousands of due diligence files — CIMs, financial models, legal opinions — is tedious and error-prone. Peony's AI auto-indexes documents into logical folder structures.
No visibility into buyer engagement
Which bidders are doing real due diligence? Peony tracks every page view so sell-side advisors and bankers know who is genuinely engaged.
Days to spin up a data room
When a mandate needs to move fast, waiting days for IT to provision a VDR costs you momentum. Set up a Peony data room in under 5 minutes — no IT tickets required.
Bank-grade document protection
Control who sees what — down to the page. From CIMs and financial models to board resolutions and legal opinions — every document is secured with dynamic watermarks, NDA gates, 2FA, and screenshot protection. Separate buy-side and sell-side access with granular permissions for multi-bidder processes.
Dynamic watermarks
Mark every document with the viewer's email, timestamp, and IP address. Deter leaks and trace any unauthorized distribution of CIMs or financial models back to the source.
Granular access controls
Separate buy-side and sell-side access with folder-level controls. Stage document release from Phase 1 diligence (CIM and financials only) to Phase 2 (full legal, HR, and operations access). Grant view-only, download, or print rights per bidder or group.
NDA-gated access
Require all counterparties to sign a non-disclosure agreement before viewing any deal material. Collect legally binding e-signatures without leaving Peony.
Two-factor authentication
Add an extra identity verification layer for the most sensitive phases of due diligence. Ensure only verified participants get access.
Complete audit trails
Every view, download, print, and login is logged with timestamps. Export compliance-ready reports for regulators, legal counsel, and deal teams.
Instant access revocation
When a bidder drops out or deal terms change, revoke document access with one click. No waiting for IT or support tickets.
Bidder engagement scoring
Rank prospective buyers by time spent, pages viewed, and documents downloaded. Focus your deal team's energy where it counts.
Page-by-page insights
Go beyond file-level views. See which pages of your financial model or management presentation each counterparty studied most.
Activity logs
Track who accessed the data room, when they logged in, what device they used, and which documents they viewed — with full export support for compliance and Q&A log management.
Let AI handle the heavy lifting
Auto-index documents. Answer due diligence questions 24/7. Upload your deal files and let Peony's AI organize them into a logical folder structure. Buyers submit questions through Smart Q&A — AI drafts cited answers from your documents, your team reviews before publishing. Full control, zero back-and-forth email chains.
Auto-index documents
Upload hundreds of files and let AI sort them into standard due diligence categories — financials, legal, HR, operations, and more.
Smart Q&A
Buyers ask questions in natural language and get instant, cited answers from the data room documents. Reduce management calls and speed up diligence.
5-minute setup
Drag and drop your deal files. AI organizes them, applies permissions, and generates share links. Your data room is ready before the call ends.
Syndication-ready sharing
Distribute CIMs and teasers to multiple bidders simultaneously with individualized access links. Track engagement across every party in the syndication.
AI auto-markup
Upload an agreement and let AI automatically detect and place signature, date, and input fields. Reduce contract prep from hours to minutes.
Attorney-approved templates
Start with vetted templates for NDAs, engagement letters, and standard deal documents. Ensure compliance from the first page.
Legally binding audit trails
Every signature event is logged with timestamp, IP address, and signer identity. Export court-admissible records at any time.
"Peony is a standout for data rooms and gated file sharing — intuitive, secure, and beautifully designed. The AI actually adds value, not just a checkbox feature. Highly recommend."
Michael Hui
Managing Director at Piton Partners
Akash Ghavalkar
Co-founder & COO, Third Space
"We'd been searching for a solution like Peony for ages, and it has completely transformed our workflows. What used to take hours every week is now effortless — Peony saves us so much time that we were finally able to move away from Dropbox Sign. It's been a total game changer!"
Peony vs legacy virtual data rooms
Feature-by-feature comparison for M&A data rooms. Peony delivers enterprise-grade security and AI at a fraction of legacy VDR pricing — with no per-page, per-deal, or storage-based fees.
| Feature | Peony | Datasite | Intralinks | Ideals | Sterling | Firmex | Digify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $720/deal (typical) | $25,000+/deal | $25,000+/deal | $25,000+/project | $10,000+/deal | $5,000+/project | $500/mo |
| Per-page fees | None | Yes | Yes | None | — | None | None |
| Storage-based fees | None | — | Per-MB | Per-GB | — | — | None |
| Setup time | Under 5 minutes | Days | Days | 30+ minutes | Hours | 20+ minutes | 15+ minutes |
| AI document chat | Included (Business) | Add-on | Included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Structured Q&A workflows | Included (Business) | Basic | Basic | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Unlimited storage | Up to 1 TB | Limited | Per-MB fees | Per-GB fees | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Unlimited users | Included | Per-user fees | Per-user fees | Add-on | — | Included | Per-user fees |
| Built-in e-signatures | Included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Screenshot protection | Included (Screenshield) | Add-on | Not included | Add-on | — | Not included | Included |
| AI file organization | Included | Add-on | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Automatic NDA | Included | Not included | Not included | Add-on | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Dynamic watermarks | Included | Add-on | Not included | Included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Custom domain & branding | Included | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Not included | Add-on | Add-on |
| Ease of use (public rating) | 9.4/10 | 7.5/10 | 7.2/10 | 8.7/10 | 7.4/10 | 8.5/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Average user satisfaction | 9.7/10 | 7.5/10 | 7.2/10 | 8.9/10 | 7.3/10 | 8.8/10 | 7.5/10 |
Frequently asked questions
What is an M&A data room and how do sell-side advisors use it during a competitive auction?
An M&A data room is a secure virtual environment where sell-side advisors, investment bankers, and legal counsel centralize CIMs, financial models, management presentations, and legal exhibits for prospective buyers during a competitive auction. Sell-side teams use it to control who sees what at each stage of the process — distributing teasers broadly, then granting deeper access as bidders advance through indicative and binding offer rounds. Peony provides a purpose-built M&A data room with multi-bidder CIM distribution, page-level engagement analytics, AI-powered Q&A for due diligence, and bank-grade security — all deployable in under 5 minutes.
How does Peony handle multi-bidder CIM distribution?
Peony lets sell-side advisors distribute Confidential Information Memorandums to multiple bidders simultaneously with individualized access links per party. Granular folder-level permissions ensure each bidder sees only the documents relevant to their track. Dynamic watermarks and NDA gating prevent unauthorized sharing. Unlike legacy VDRs like Ideals or Datasite that charge per-page fees, Peony's Business plan ($40/admin/month) includes dynamic watermarks, NDA gating, and granular folder-level permissions.
How do investment bankers track which bidders are doing real due diligence?
Peony provides page-by-page analytics showing exactly which sections of your CIM, financial models, and management presentations each prospective buyer studied and for how long. Bidder engagement scoring ranks buyers by time spent, pages viewed, and documents downloaded — so sell-side advisors and bankers focus energy on the bidders who are genuinely engaged rather than just browsing.
Can AI speed up the due diligence Q&A process for M&A deal teams managing 200+ buyer questions?
Yes. When a sell-side advisor is fielding hundreds of diligence questions across multiple bidder workstreams, Peony's AI-powered document chat lets buyers ask natural language questions against the data room and get instant, cited answers from your uploaded deal files — dramatically reducing the volume of questions that reach your deal team. AI-powered Q&A is available on the Business plan ($40/admin/month). Peony also offers a structured Smart Q&A workflow where buyer questions are submitted, AI drafts responses from your documents, and your team reviews before publishing — keeping the sell-side in control while cutting response time from days to hours.
How does Peony protect CIMs and financial models from leaking during a sell-side M&A process?
Sell-side advisors distributing CIMs and financial models to multiple bidders need leak-proof controls at every layer. Peony secures deal documents with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit on SOC 2-ready infrastructure. Peony is GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA compliant. Screenshot protection prevents unauthorized captures of CIMs and financial models, dynamic watermarks trace any leak back to the specific viewer, and controlled redaction permanently blacks out sensitive figures or proprietary terms before sharing with bidders. NDA gating ensures no bidder accesses documents without a signed NDA, and two-factor authentication adds another layer. Complete audit trails log every view, download, and print with timestamps — so if a CIM surfaces where it should not, your team can trace exactly who leaked it.
How much does an M&A data room cost for a mid-market sell-side advisory mandate?
For a typical mid-market sell-side mandate running 6 to 9 months with 2 admins, legacy VDRs like Datasite and Ideals charge $5,000 to $25,000 per data room with per-page surcharges. The same mandate on Peony's Business plan costs $720 total — a 97% reduction. Peony offers Free ($0, 2 GB), Pro ($20/admin/month, 200 GB), and Business ($40/admin/month, 1 TB) with no per-page fees, no per-viewer limits, and no per-deal surcharges. AI-powered Q&A, dynamic watermarks, and NDA gating are all included on the Business plan — features that legacy providers charge extra for on top of their base fee.
Can M&A advisors collect NDA signatures and LOIs directly inside the data room?
Yes. Peony includes built-in e-signatures on Pro ($20/admin/month) and Business plans, so sell-side advisors can gate data room access behind a signed NDA and collect letters of intent without switching to a separate tool like DocuSign. AI auto-markup detects and places signature, date, and input fields automatically, reducing contract prep from hours to minutes. Every signature event is logged with timestamp, IP address, and signer identity for legally binding audit trails — giving the deal team a single platform for NDA execution, document sharing, and bidder tracking.
How quickly can a deal team set up a data room for a new mandate?
Peony sets up in under 5 minutes. Upload your deal files and Peony's AI auto-indexes them into standard due diligence categories — financials, legal, HR, operations — while generating a due diligence checklist that tracks which documents are uploaded, which are missing, and which need updating. Assign granular permissions per bidder, enable NDA gating, and generate individualized share links. Your data room is live before the kickoff call ends. While legacy VDRs like Firmex require days of IT provisioning, Peony requires no IT tickets or technical setup.
What support does Peony offer M&A deal teams during live transactions?
Peony provides 24/7 dedicated support for enterprise clients managing active deals — because bidder access issues at 11 PM before a deadline cannot wait until morning. Enterprise support is available to teams who book a demo with our deal infrastructure team. Every plan includes in-app help, documentation, and email support. For mid-market M&A where counterparty experience matters, Peony ensures your deal team and external parties never hit a dead end.
Is Peony suitable for $1M–$50M M&A transactions?
Absolutely. Peony is purpose-built for mid-market M&A — delivering enterprise-grade security, AI-powered Q&A, page-level analytics, and built-in e-signatures at $40/admin/month instead of the $25,000–$50,000 per-deal fees charged by legacy VDRs like Datasite and Ideals. There are no per-deal surcharges, no per-page fees, and no user caps. The Business plan ($40/admin/month) includes AI document classification, dynamic watermarks, NDA-gated access, and granular multi-bidder permissions — making it the right-sized data room for boutique advisors and deal teams running $1M–$50M transactions.