Sustainability Consulting M&A: ERM Acquires Financial Services ESG Expert NINT

ERM, which positions itself as the world’s largest pure play sustainability consultancy, has acquired NINT Group, a Latin America-based consultancy that offers sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) guidance to financial services clientele. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ERM has been an active buyer in the ESG market. Another recent deal involved buying Coho in February 2023.

Related: See all M&A deals involving ESG and sustainability consulting firms here.

ERM Acquires NINT: Sustainability Business Backgrounds

NINT, founded in 2011, has more than 100 employees. The company is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. NINT has completed more than 700 ESG projects for more than 250 clients across Latin America as of March 2023.

NINT assists financial services firms with their funding activities across environmental, climate change, low-carbon infrastructure and other sustainability areas. Key advisory services focus on sustainable debt, ESG investing and due diligence, program management and sustainable finance research.

ERM, based in London, United Kingdom, had more than 9,000 employees listed on LinkedIn as of March 2023. ERM helps customers to develop sustainable products and supply chains that ultimately align with sustainable economy strategies. The company advises on:

• Corporate sustainability and climate change
• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
• Capital project delivery
• Low carbon economy transitions
• Operational performance
• EHS management and compliance
• Liability portfolio management and remediation
• Safety services
• Digital services
• Product stewardship

Sustainability M&A: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, ERM Managing Partner Paulo Santos said: “Sustainable finance is a key tool in delivering on climate commitments and facilitating investments to solve other sustainability challenges. NINT’s team offers a wealth of knowledge and experience in this space, which will strengthen the value we can bring to our clients in Latin America and worldwide. We are very excited to welcome NINT to ERM.” 

Concluded Gustavo Pimentel, founding partner and CEO of NINT: “We welcome this opportunity to join ERM, who share our core values and commitment to sustainability, including a focus on professional development, learning, collaboration, and impact-driven work. At this unique point in our organization’s journey, we are looking forward to accelerating our impact with clients in geographies beyond Latin America and providing our team with new project and career growth opportunities.”