IHS將與Markit合併 IHS and Markit merge in $13bn all share deal

Data providers Markit and IHS are to combine in a $13bn stock deal to create a financial and corporate information powerhouse to challenge Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters.

數據提供商Markit和IHS將通過一宗130億美元的換股交易實現合併，以打造出一家能挑戰彭博(Bloomberg)和湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)的金融及企業信息巨擘。

The merger is the largest in a wave of takeover activity among market intelligence companies over the past two years, bringing together Markit’s proprietary credit market data with IHS, which is best known for its energy, commodity and transportation sector analysis.

這一合併是兩年來的一波市場情報公司併購潮中最大的一宗，它將Markit專有的信用市場數據與IHS整合在一起，後者最爲人所知的是其對能源、大宗商品及交通運輸業的分析。

Shareholders in US-based IHS will own 57 per cent of the combined company, while investors in London-headquartered Markit will hold the reminder.

總部位於美國的IHS的股東，將持有合併後公司57%的股份；總部位於倫敦的Markit的股東，將持有剩餘的股份。

It will also allow IHS to relocate its corporate tax base to the UK, in a politically controversially manouevre known as a tax inversion. A feature of the boom in mergers and acquisitions, the move allows a US company to capture a lower tax rate by using a takeover to move its domicile overseas.

這宗交易還使得IHS能將其公司稅基挪到英國，這是一種被稱爲“稅收倒置”(tax inversion)的存在政治爭議的操作。作爲併購潮中的一個特有現象，這一舉措使得美國企業能利用收購來將其註冊地遷至境外，從而享受更低的稅率。

IHS said some operations would remain in Englewood, Colorado, where it is based, but added that its anticipated tax rate would be in the “low-to-mid 20 per cent range” after the deal.

IHS表示，其部分業務將留在其總部所在的美國科羅拉多州恩格爾伍德(Englewood)。不過，該公司補充說，交易完成後，其預期稅率會在“20%到25%之間”。

“Markit is perfect for IHS. It’s not anchored to a specific desktop product in the way that Bloomberg or Reuters are, so it won’t be hit by the cost cuts taking place at banks,” said one person close to the deal.

一位瞭解該交易的人士表示：“對IHS來說，Markit是完美的併購對象。它不像彭博或路透那樣綁定於具體的桌面產品，所以它不會受到銀行眼下削減成本之舉的衝擊。”