US rating agency S&P Global has agreed to acquire research company IHS Markit. The biggest deal of the year that will combine two giants of the global financial industry is in its final stage and must be closed by the end of the year.
Under the agreement reached, S&P Global is set to make an all-stock acquisition of IHS Markit (100%), paying with its own shares. IHS Markit shareholders will receive 0.28 share of S&P Global stock for each IHS share. As a result of this merger, the shareholders of both companies will become the owners of the combined agency. S&P Global shareholders will own 68% of the total capital. Taking into account the market capitalization and the debts of both companies, the deal is worth $44 billion.
Such a large-scale event could not have gone unnoticed. The acquisition has already been deemed the biggest corporate deal in 2020. Among the rivals for this title are GPU maker NVIDIA's acquisition of chip designer ARM as well as the merger of Japan's telecoms giant Nippon Telegraph & Telephone and its subsidiary. Both deals are valued at $40 billion.
Amid the news of a potential deal, IHS shares rose by 5.3%, while S&P shares lost 0.6%. The market capitalization of the largest data providers is $86.8 and $32.1 billion, respectively.
