More than half of multinationals fail to carry out full anti-bribery and corruption checks during M&A talks, according to new research by Hogan Lovells.
However, 64% believe the biggest bribery and corruption risks occur during M&A. The report, Steering the Course, is based on interviews with 604 heads of legal and equivalent in the UK, US, Asia, France and Germany.
Crispin Rapinet, global head of investigations at Hogan Lovells, said: ‘Too few companies do enough to counter bribery and corruption in M&A and private equity investments. Instead they busy themselves with due diligence on tax, antitrust, legal, financial, intellectual property, and other asset or industry-specific areas. None of which makes a difference if the company you’re after is corrupt.’
