Business information provider S&P Global and analytics leader IHS Markit have entered into a merger agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction which values IHS Markit at an enterprise value of $44 billion, including $4.8 billion of net debt.

The transaction brings together two world-class organizations, a unique portfolio of highly complementary assets in attractive markets and cutting-edge innovation and technology capability to accelerate growth and enhance value creation.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, each share of IHS Markit common stock will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 0.2838 shares of S&P Global common stock. Upon completion of the transaction, current S&P Global shareholders will own approximately 67.75% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis, while IHS Markit shareholders will own approximately 32.25%.

S&P Global and IHS Markit's unique and highly complementary assets will leverage cutting-edge innovation and technology capability, including Kensho and the IHS Markit Data Lake, to enhance the customer value proposition and provide the intelligence customers need to make decisions with conviction.

Serving a global customer base across financial information and services, ratings, indices, commodities and energy, and transportation and engineering, the pro forma company will provide differentiated solutions important to the workflows of many of the world's leading companies.

The transaction creates a pro forma company with increased scale, world-class products in core markets and strong joint offerings in high-growth adjacencies, including private assets, small and medium enterprises (SME), counterparty risk management, supply chain and trade and alternative data. Combined, the two companies will provide comprehensive solutions across data, platforms, benchmarks and analytics in ESG, climate and energy transition.

Douglas Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of S&P Global, will serve as CEO of the combined company. Lance Uggla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IHS Markit, will stay on as a special advisor to the company for one year following closing.

"Through this exciting combination, we are able to better serve our markets and customers by creating new value and insights," said Peterson.

"This merger increases scale while rounding out our combined capabilities, and accelerates and amplifies our ability to deliver customers the essential intelligence needed to make decisions with conviction. We are confident that the strengths of S&P Global and IHS Markit will enable meaningful growth and create attractive value for all stakeholders. We have been impressed by the IHS Markit team and look forward to welcoming the talented IHS Markit employees to S&P Global."

"This transaction is a win for both IHS Markit and S&P Global as we leverage our respective strengths in information, data science, research and benchmarks," said Uggla.

"Our highly complementary products will deliver a broader set of offerings across multiple verticals for the benefit of our customers, employees and shareholders. Our cultures are well aligned, and the combined company will provide greater career opportunities for employees. We look forward to bringing together our teams to realize the potential of this combination."

The transaction creates a combined business with increased scale and world-class products in core market segments. The combined company will have balanced earnings across major industry segments and a resilient portfolio, providing additional financial flexibility to pursue value-creating opportunities.

The combined company will be differentiated in attractive high-growth adjacencies, including ESG, climate and energy transition, private assets and SME, counterparty risk management, supply chain and trade, and alternative data, which together represent $20 billion of total addressable market, growing at least 10% annually. As part of its ongoing commitment to remain on the cutting edge of technology and innovation, the combined company will continue to deploy well above $1 billion annually on technology.

The transaction brings together both companies' customer-first cultures and broadens their combined reach across client segments, workflows and use cases. The pro forma organization will serve diverse customer segments across financial services, corporates and governments with differentiated data and intelligence, including the potential to link and create novel insights from new data set combinations. S&P Global and IHS Markit's complementary product portfolios are expected to enable the combined company to serve new and expanded customer use cases in existing and new geographies.

The combined company will benefit from two best-in-class workforces with deep expertise and strong, complementary cultures focused on serving the global needs of customers. As a single organization, the collective workforce will benefit from expanded opportunities for career development and growth. – TradeArabia News Service