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NielsenIQ and GfK to Merge
NielsenIQ and GfK have announced an agreement through which the two firms will be 'combined', with NielsenIQ's owner Advent International being the majority shareholder. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
 In March, private equity sector news site Unquote reported that investor KKR had halted its plans to sell GfK after failing to get enough interest, claiming that 'strategic buyers', including Kantar, NielsenIQ and the NPD Group had withdrawn interest. Now a deal has been struck, NielsenIQ's cloud-based Connect platform and omnichannel measurement technologies will be combined with GfK's recently launched gfknewron platform, to provide a 'comprehensive view' of shopper spending through a 'total store read'.
The pair say that GfK's position in technology and durables across 67 countries, combined with NielsenIQ's focus on the measurement of fast-moving consumer goods in 90 countries, will allow for expansion across their traditional client sectors, as well as new market segments. Both companies say they are looking to further expand the business - both geographically and vertically.
Advent, which acquired NielsenIQ last year for $2.7 billion, will become the majority shareholder in the combined company; NIM (Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions), which has been GfK's majority shareholder since 1984, will remain one of the key shareholders; and GfK shareholder KKR will stay invested as a minority shareholder. According to sources quoted on German news site www.handelsblatt.com , the deal values GfK at around $2.5 billion, including debt. The transaction is expected to close later this year or early next, and until then NielsenIQ and GfK will remain independent companies.
Jim Peck, Executive Chairman and CEO of NielsenIQ, says the combination will accelerate innovation and deliver significant value for stakeholders. Lars Nordmark, interim CEO and CFO at GfK, adds: 'GfK has successfully navigated a digital transformation to profitable and sustainable growth over the last years. Joining forces with NielsenIQ is now the logical next step for us and will support the next stage of our company's development. The combination with NielsenIQ will enable us to empower our customers to make smarter decisions across their organizations at a truly global scale, and accelerate our journey into the next chapter of innovation'.
Web sites: www.nielseniq.com and www.gfk.com .
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