EC Grants Conditional Clearance for S&P Global and IHS Markit Merger

The European Commission (EC) has granted S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) and IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO) conditional Phase 1 clearance for their $44 billion merger, marking another key step toward the merging of these highly complementary firms.

Douglas L. Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of S&P Global, believes that the decision of EC clarifies the actions that must be taken in order to conclude this merger. The combination of the two companies is expected to drive innovation within their core services and develop exciting new prospects that deliver on their potential to power the markets of the future once completed.

"Our teams have been working closely with the relevant regulatory authorities to achieve this important milestone for our merger," added Lance Uggla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IHS Markit. "Once combined, the new company will deliver a broader set of information and insights that will drive the growth and performance of our customers."

The planned merger between S&P Global and IHS Markit is now expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2022, pending all regulatory approvals and the fulfillment or waiver of specified closing conditions.

In response to concerns raised by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, the companies have agreed to divest IHS Markit's Oil Price Information Services (OPIS), Coal, Metals and Mining (CMM), and PetroChem Wire (PCW) businesses, and are exploring a divestiture of IHS Markit's base chemicals business. Learn more about previous UK CMA’s findings regarding the merger from a previous story covered by Fazzaco​.