S&P Global said it had agreed to buy consensus provider Visible Alpha for an undisclosed sum, the business intelligence company’s latest deal to expand into a data powerhouse.
New York-based S&P Global declined to comment on the deal value. The Financial Times, was the first to report that the firms were nearing a deal for more than $500 million on Monday.
The company also said it was exploring options for its digital solutions unit Fincentric, formerly known as Markit Digital, in line with its attempts to streamline focus to its core businesses.
S&P Global has struck a slew of deals over the last few years to attract big clients at a time when rivals are competing to create one-stop shops and invest in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
In 2021, it won antitrust approval to buy market intelligence provider IHS Markit in a $44 billion deal after both firms offloaded several units to satisfy regulatory requirements.
It acquired environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data provider Climate Service in 2022, while its commodity insights unit bought UK-based technology firm Tradenet and its live vessel-tracking platform Market Intelligence Network (MINT) in 2023.
Founded in 2015, Visible Alpha operates a platform that collates investment research and financial models from brokerages. It provides consensus estimates and analytics, and competes with Bloomberg and LSEG.
It is backed by 12 global investment banks, including Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.
S&P Global is prominently known for its credit ratings business and equity indices.
The deal for Visible Alpha, expected to close this year, and the consideration of options for Fincentric are part of measures to accelerate focus in key areas of strategic growth, S&P said.
It sold its engineering solutions business to KKR in 2023 for $975 million to focus on its growth-driving businesses.
Source: Reuters.com