S&P Global is in advanced talks to buy IHS Markit for about US$44-billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
An announcement could come as early as Monday, the person added, declining to be identified because the information isn’t public.
IHS Markit is valued at $36.9-billion as of the close on Friday, after climbing to a record earlier in the week. The stock has risen 23% this year, compared to S&P Global’s 25% gain, giving it a market capitalisation of $82.2-billion.
Representatives for S&P Global and IHS Markit didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The potential deal reflects the growing appetite for data, particularly from the financial industry. IHS Markit provides data, analytics, research and advice to financial services firms as well as industry and government. IHS’s $9.8-billion acquisition of Markit in 2016 combined IHS’s information services with Markit’s indexes for financial products such as credit default swaps, just at the moment when electronic trading was feeding intense demand for sets of information to mine for insights.
Stock market rally
The possible acquisition also comes amid a stock market rally — the S&P 500 Index closed at a record Friday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index also climbed to a record in early Asia trading Monday.
The rally has driven up valuations for both companies — IHS Markit shares trade at 33.5x estimated earnings, compared to 29.8x for S&P Global. — Reported by Matthew Monks, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP
