S&P Global and IHS Markit Ahead of Mega Merger, Plan to Sell Subsidiaries

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] S&P Global and IHS Markit, which are preparing for a merger, are set to sell subsidiaries. This move is seen as a response to regulatory concerns surrounding the mega-merger.

On the 27th (local time), according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), S&P Global will sell its subsidiary 'CUSIP Global Services (CGS)' to financial data research firm FactSet for $1.93 billion. CUSIP provides identification IDs to securities firms to track investors' assets, and CGS manages this system on behalf of the American Bankers Association (ABA).

IHS Markit has also decided to sell its subsidiary Base Chemicals to News Corporation. The deal is valued at $295 million. Base Chemicals provides data and analytical services to the chemical market. News Corporation, the parent company of Dow Jones, will be able to strengthen its monitoring of the raw materials market through this acquisition.

This subsidiary sale is a move to alleviate regulatory concerns ahead of one of the largest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals of the year.

S&P Global announced last December that it had agreed to acquire IHS Markit for $44 billion. WSJ reported that "S&P Global and IHS Markit had promised to divest some businesses." S&P Global is also pursuing the sale of its leverage analytics and data business. This is expected to take place after the conditional merger approval from the European Commission.

S&P Global and IHS Markit expect to complete the merger process in the first quarter of next year. The merged company will be headquartered in New York and led by Douglas Peterson, CEO of S&P Global. According to market research firm Burton-Taylor, S&P Global is the third-largest company after Bloomberg and Refinitiv, while IHS Markit ranks eighth.

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