Private equity investors could be early leaders when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts in M&A, according to a new Deloitte poll. Based on the data, private equity investors lead their corporate M&A counterparts by factors of two and three when it comes to the use of ESG clauses in deal contracts and routine ESG due diligence.
While many respondents evaluate ESG during pre-deal due diligence (49.6 percent of private equity investors versus 43.2 percent of corporates), private equity investors are nearly three times as likely to approach ESG due diligence “consistently and formally” (26.8 percent) compared to corporate M&A professionals (9.3 percent). ESG evaluations could become more widespread as additional profession
