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Krishna Veeraraghavan Quoted in The Financial Times’ Agenda on ESG in M&A
February 7, 2022
Corporate partner Krishna Veeraraghavan was quoted in “CEOs Eye ESG in M&A Plans,” published in Agenda, a Financial Times publication. The article discusses the recent trend of corporate boards seeking to pursue ESG objectives through mergers and acquisitions rather than through developing their ESG capabilities in-house.
“Companies have ample dry powder to pursue ESG-related deals, and investors are pushing for companies to reach net-zero in the coming decades, said Krishna Veeraraghavan, M&A partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison,” the article says. “But he added that with potential headwinds such as higher antitrust scrutiny and the tightening of monetary policy facing M&A, companies will need to continue to be smart about all their investments, including which assets they target as part of their ESG strategies.”
Krishna noted several factors corporate boards should consider when assessing ESG-specific M&A deals, including implementing the necessary supporting governance mechanisms, ensuring that ESG objectives have been accurately stated and that the data showing progress toward those objectives has been audited thoroughly, and evaluating whether the target company’s strategy is aligned with the company’s strategy, as well as whether the companies’ cultures will mesh well.