NEW YORK – S&P Global was nearing a deal to buy IHS Markit for around US$44 billion (RM179 billion), reports said yesterday, in what would be a merger of two of Wall Street's largest data providers.
The all-stock deal could be announced as soon as today, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
S&P Global, valued at around US$82 billion, controls the Standard and Poor's ratings agency and traces its roots to the 1860s.
London-based IHS Markit, a much more recent entrant to the hugely lucrative financial data market, is now valued at around US$37 billion.
The move would mark the latest consolidation among firms providing financial data and analytics as competition hots up amid challenges to titans such as Bloomberg and Refinitiv.
News of the potential deal comes amid a share rally, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closing at records Friday as markets look past rising coronavirus cases toward a better 2021 economy with likely Covid-19 vaccines.
S&P Global did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. – AFP, November 30, 2020
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