Sustainability on the M&A agenda

Our study findings

48%

of surveyed companies rank sustainability among the top three priorities of their overall company strategy.

45%

state that the primary driver for integrating sustainability criteria into deal activity is corporate values/policy.

59%

of respondents believe that sustainability plays a (very) important role in a deal context.

66%

of surveyed companies plan to integrate sustainability considerations into due diligence in the next three years.

Merging sustainability with M&A: insights from the financial services sector

Financial services providers play a key role in channelling capital to - or ensuring the risks of - companies that are actively facilitating the transition to a more sustainable economy. At the same time, sustainability topics are increasingly on their strategic agenda. Over the past years, many of them have sought to integrate sustainability into their operations, reviewed their investment portfolios from a sustainability perspective and offer their clients products with a sustainability angle (e.g. funds, loans or insurance products).

But how do these efforts translate into M&A activity?

Our study “Sustainability on the M&A agenda” explores how sustainability considerations and practices are incorporated into mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the financial services industry. It focuses on larger players headquartered in Switzerland and Liechtenstein – highlighting the current market status and providing insights into where the market is expected to shift.

Available: Sustainability on the M&A agenda

Discover our latest findings about Sustainability and M&A

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About the survey

Our "Sustainability on the M&A agenda" study examines the integration of sustainability practices in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within the financial services sector, focusing on players headquartered in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. More specifically, we have narrowed the scope of the study to private and retail banks, insurance companies, and asset managers exceeding a certain business volume. On the other hand, we excluded players that are known to focus solely on organic growth, or which responded that they were not active in M&A.

Download the study “Sustainability on the M&A agenda” to gain insights into:

the key strategic priorities of financial services players headquartered in Switzerland and Liechtenstein;
how they assess their internal sustainability efforts;
the importance they attach to sustainability in M&A;
their primary motivations and drivers for integrating sustainability into their deal activity;
how sustainability considerations influence their selection and valuation of targets;
why sustainability due diligence is not just about risk detection;
what the main challenges are, and how these challenges can be addressed now to adequately cover sustainability topics.

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"The financial sector plays a key role in steering the capital that fuels the transition to a sustainable future. As the scope of due diligence expands to include sustainability-related non-financial considerations, dealmakers urgently need to update their processes”.

Sofie Simon, Sustainability Leader for Deals Financial Services, PwC Switzerland