Major Buy for IHS Markit

London-based data firm IHS Markit Ltd is to acquire competitor Ipreo for around $1.86bn, from private equity funds of BlackStone Group LP and Goldman Sachs.

IHS Markit was formed two years ago by the merger of US energy and environment information giant IHS and London-based financial data company Markit. The latest deal will be funded through debt financing and will expand its contracts business and strengthen its financial services operations, according to www.nasdaq.com .

The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2018 but is subject to regulatory approvals, represents a tidy profit for Ipreo's previous owners, who acquired it from KKR & Co LP (current major stakeholders in GfK) in April 2014 for just under $975m.

IHS Markit acquired predictive analytics and marketing automation software specialist automotiveMastermind eight months ago, and earlier this year appointed its former COO Lance Uggla (pictured) to Chairman and CEO after losing long-time leader Jerre Stead at the end of last year.

Ipreo's services include financial data and analytics alongside compliance and reporting solutions. The company was created in 2006 through the merger of i-Deal LLC and Hemscott Group Ltd.

Web site: www.ihsmarkit.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.