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IRI and The NPD Group to Merge
Major league consumer data and insights firms IRI and The NPD Group have announced they are to merge, promising clients 'a view of total retail purchasing and consumption trends powered by advanced, predictive analytics' on IRI's Liquid Data technology platform.
 The companies, respectively rated 4th and 10th in the Insight's Association's latest Top 50 US-based firms, combine data and analytics offerings for CPG, general merchandise, foodservice and food consumption sectors. NPD was acquired six months ago by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F) with Executive Chairman Tod Johnson and CEO Karyn Schoenbart retaining a minority stake; while IRI has been jointly run since November 2018 by two investors, New Mountain Capital and Vestar Capital Partners.
The merger, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second half of 2022. The agreement sees H&F take a majority stake in IRI, with the latter's two existing backers maintaining 'significant' minority holdings and board representation - Johnson and Schoenbart will also retain shareholdings. IRI President and CEO Kirk Perry (pictured) will become CEO of the combined company and serve on the board, with Johnson as Chairman. Schoenbart and Jeff Ansell, current Chairman of IRI's board, will also take seats on the combined company's board.
IRI combines purchase, media, causal and loyalty data into the LiquidData on-demand, cloud-based technology platform, for more than 5,000 clients worldwide. Its market measurement, supply chain and media optimization solutions, technology platform, retail relationships and data assets serve the CPG industry including grocery, convenience and over-the-counter healthcare categories. NPD operates in nineteen countries and offers data, industry expertise and prescriptive analytics to help more than 2,000 companies measure, predict and improve performance across channels including brick-and-mortar, e-commerce and B2B. The firm summarises its wide range of sectors under the headings of general merchandise, including softlines, technology and retail; foodservice and food consumption.
Perry says NPD bring 'expertise in parts of the store that IRI does not cover today'. He comments: 'As the global retail landscape continues to evolve, IRI and NPD will have innovative technology, analytics, data resources, talent and geographic reach to best support the growth of the world's leading brands and retailers. Our combined organization will be well-positioned for continued innovation and success, backed by the expertise and resources of our new majority investor, Hellman & Friedman, alongside our long-term partners at Vestar Capital and New Mountain Capital'. For NPD, Schoenbart comments: 'We are excited about the prospect of combining our companies to give clients the tools and information they need to succeed amid changing consumer behavior. Both NPD and IRI share similar client-focused, innovative and collaborative cultures, making this combination a natural fit'.
Web sites are at www.iriworldwide.com and www.npd.com .
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