Data firm IHS Markit to buy rival Ipreo for $1.86 billion

Data firm IHS Markit said on Monday it will buy smaller rival Ipreo from private-equity funds of Blackstone and Goldman Sachs for $1.86 billion to expand its contracts business and shore up its financial services operations.

IHS, whose diverse set of businesses range from selling data on automotive and technology industries to publishing Jane's Defence Weekly, said the deal will be funded through debt financing from HSBC.

The deal is a windfall for the buyout arm of Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, which acquired Ipreo from KKR in April 2014 for little less than $975 million.

Ipreo's valuation has gained about four times since 2011 when KKR took over Ipreo in a $425 million deal.

The company was created in 2006 when private-equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson merged i-Deal and Hemscott, with backing from Citigroup and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

Ipreo supports banks, public and private companies raise capital. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.

Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters News, competes with Ipreo and IHS Markit in some segments of the financial data business.

Barclays and HSBC are the financial advisers for IHS Markit, which is based in London.