Due Diligence NDA Mexico (Acuerdo de Confidencialidad para Due Diligence)

A Due Diligence NDA Mexico (Acuerdo de Confidencialidad para Due Diligence or Carta de Confidencialidad para Revisión) is a specialised non-disclosure agreement executed between a potential acquirer, investor, or strategic partner — the receiving party (parte receptora) — and the target company, seller, or disclosing party (parte divulgadora) before the commencement of a formal due diligence review (revisión de diligencia debida) in the context of a merger, acquisition, investment, joint venture, or other significant commercial transaction in Mexico. This instrument is governed by the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI) Articles 82 through 84, the Código de Comercio (CCom) Article 75, the Código Civil Federal (CCF) for general contract principles, and the Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares (LFPDPPP) for personal data shared in the due diligence process.

LFPPI Articles 82–84 provide the statutory framework for trade secret (secreto industrial) protection in Mexico. Article 82 defines a secreto industrial as information of industrial or commercial application kept confidential by its owner, providing competitive or economic advantage, and protected by reasonable confidentiality measures. Article 83 LFPPI establishes that a trade secret is disclosed when: the owner voluntarily makes it available to a party without imposing confidentiality obligations; the owner fails to take adequate measures to preserve secrecy; or the information enters the public domain through no fault of the recipient. Article 84 LFPPI specifically addresses unauthorised access to trade secrets — establishing liability for any person who obtains a trade secret by illicit means, including industrial espionage or breach of a confidentiality obligation, actionable before the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI).

In Mexican M&A practice, due diligence (diligencia debida) is a detailed investigation of the target company's legal, financial, tax, labour, environmental, and operational status. Typical due diligence information rooms (data rooms) in Mexico contain: statutory documents (acta constitutiva, estatutos sociales); financial statements (estados financieros) for the last three to five years; tax declarations (declaraciones fiscales) and SAT compliance history; labour contracts and IMSS registration records; real property titles (escrituras) and RPP certificates; intellectual property registrations with IMPI and INDAUTOR; environmental licences (autorizaciones ambientales) from SEMARNAT; regulatory approvals from COFEPRIS, CRE, CNH, or other sectoral regulators; and pending litigation (litigios pendientes) before federal and local courts.

The Ley del Mercado de Valores (LMV) imposes additional confidentiality requirements for due diligence involving publicly traded companies (sociedades bursátiles) — any material non-public information (información privilegiada) accessed during due diligence is subject to LMV Articles 363–370 insider trading restrictions, and the NDA must expressly address these obligations. The Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) may require regulatory notifications for transactions above certain thresholds in regulated financial sectors.

The Due Diligence NDA Mexico must also address the Ley Federal para la Prevencion e Identificacion de Operaciones con Recursos de Procedencia Ilicita (LFPIORPI) — the anti-money-laundering law administered by the Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF) of the Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico (SHCP). M&A transactions above specified thresholds qualify as actividades vulnerables under LFPIORPI Article 17, requiring buyer identification, source-of-funds confirmation, and SAT reporting. The NDA should confirm that the potential acquirer will cooperate with LFPIORPI compliance requirements and provide the necessary identification documentation to the target company before accessing the data room.

A Due Diligence NDA Mexico is required at the very start of any M&A, investment, or strategic transaction in which one party will access confidential financial, legal, technical, or operational information about another party before committing to the transaction.

The agreement is essential before commencing due diligence on any target company in Mexico — whether a Sociedad Anónima (S.A.), Sociedad Anónima Bursátil (S.A.B.), S. de R.L. de C.V., or any other entity form under the Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles (LGSM). Without an executed Due Diligence NDA, the target company has no contractual basis to restrict the potential acquirer's use of disclosed confidential information, and the potential acquirer has no contractual protection for its own strategic intentions and evaluation criteria.

The NDA is required when a private equity fund (fondo de capital privado), venture capital investor, or strategic acquirer begins reviewing an investment opportunity in a Mexican portfolio company — standard market practice requires a signed NDA before any financial model, cap table, or customer contract is shared.

A Due Diligence NDA is needed when a Mexican company explores a joint venture with a foreign partner — before technology, market data, customer lists, and operational know-how are shared during the partnership evaluation process. T-MEC Chapter 22 (exceptions) and LFPPI Article 82 provide the IP protection framework that the NDA activates contractually.

The document is required before any debt financing due diligence — when a bank, development finance institution (NAFIN — Nacional Financiera, BANCOMEXT — Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior), or private lender reviews a borrower's financial, operational, and collateral information in connection with a significant credit facility.

Under LFPPI arts. 82–84, Código de Comercio art. 75, and LFPDPPP art. 15, executing a formal Due Diligence NDA before any information sharing in an M&A or investment context is not merely best practice — it is the legal prerequisite for IMPI enforcement of trade secret violations and for personal data transfer compliance.

The Due Diligence NDA Mexico is also needed when a Mexican company approaches a strategic partner in the United States, Canada, or the European Union — the USMCA/T-MEC Chapter 20 and bilateral investment treaties require that confidential business information exchanged during investment evaluation be protected under both Mexican LFPPI law and the counterparty's domestic trade secret statute. A bilingual (Spanish-English) NDA citing both LFPPI Article 82 and the applicable foreign trade secret law satisfies this dual-jurisdiction requirement and reduces enforcement risk if the receiving party misuses information in a foreign jurisdiction.

A Due Diligence NDA Mexico for M&A and investment transactions under LFPPI Articles 82–84 must contain the following essential elements tailored to the transaction context:

Identification of Parties and Transaction Context: Full legal name, RFC, Registro Público de Comercio registration, and domicilio for both the disclosing party (parte divulgadora / empresa objetivo) and the receiving party (parte receptora / potencial adquirente or inversionista). The agreement should identify the transaction type — potential acquisition (adquisición), investment (inversión), joint venture (empresa conjunta), or merger (fusión) — and confirm that the NDA is executed solely for the purpose of evaluating the described transaction.

Detailed Definition of Due Diligence Information: The definition of confidential information must be specifically tailored to cover all categories of M&A due diligence information: financial statements and projections (estados financieros y proyecciones); customer and supplier contracts (contratos con clientes y proveedores); employee compensation and benefits information (información de compensaciones y prestaciones); intellectual property portfolio (cartera de propiedad intelectual); regulatory licences and compliance records; litigation and contingency files (expedientes de litigios y contingencias); real property titles and environmental assessments; and tax history and SAT correspondence. This detailed definition under LFPPI Article 82 covers all commercial information whose disclosure would provide a competitive advantage to competitors.

Data Room Access Protocol: Provisions governing access to the information room (cuarto de datos / data room) — typically a virtual data room (VDR) platform — including: which representatives of the receiving party may access the data room; prohibition on downloading or copying documents except as expressly authorised; obligation to maintain a log (registro) of all documents accessed; and prohibition on the receiving party's advisors disclosing information to parties not covered by the NDA.

Permitted Recipients — Need to Know: Express limitation of the receiving party's disclosure of due diligence information to representatives (representantes) on a strict need-to-know basis — including directors, officers, employees, financial advisors (bancos de inversión), legal counsel (abogados), accountants (contadores), and technical consultants directly involved in evaluating the transaction. Each permitted recipient must be aware of and bound by the confidentiality obligations.

Stand-Still and Non-Solicitation Provisions: A stand-still clause preventing the receiving party from acquiring securities (acciones or participaciones) in the target outside the agreed transaction framework for a defined period; and a non-solicitation clause preventing the receiving party from soliciting or hiring the target's key employees or clients identified during due diligence.

LMV INSIDER TRADING COMPLIANCE: For targets that are publicly traded (S.A.B.) or whose shares are to be issued in a public offering, express acknowledgment of LMV Articles 363–370 restrictions on use of material non-public information (información privilegiada) received during due diligence — the receiving party may not trade in the target's securities while in possession of undisclosed material information.

Return and Destruction Protocol: Upon termination of the NDA or conclusion of due diligence without transaction completion, obligation to promptly return all physical documents and certifiably delete all electronic copies of due diligence information, with written certification (constancia de cumplimiento) within five business days.

Term and Survival: Duration of the NDA — typically 12 to 24 months for M&A due diligence contexts; survival of confidentiality obligations for trade secrets under LFPPI Article 82 indefinitely or for five years for non-trade-secret confidential information.

Forms-legal.com provides this Due Diligence NDA Mexico template as a practical starting point for M&A and investment transactions. Transactions involving significant asset values, regulated industries, or cross-border elements should be reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho specialising in fusiones y adquisiciones and propiedad industrial before execution.