Nearly one third of deals collapse or are restructured after due diligence, according to survey

Nearly one third of worldwide corporate deals collapse or are drastically altered after background checks on potential new business partners uncover problems, according to research conducted by the Risk Advisory group, an investigations and security consultancy.  The problems include companies and individuals having broken anti-corruption laws and, in the most extreme cases, having links with terrorism and other illegal activity.

Henry Pugh, head of business intelligence at The Risk Advisory Group, said: “Our research shows that there are real pitfalls for the unwary when it comes to doing deals, particularly in emerging markets but also in the UK.