In the largest acquisition in its history, Moody’s is adding a massive database of corporate information to its data analytics service by buying Dutch-based Bureau van Dijk for about $3.3 billion.
Bureau van Dijk, whose database covers more than 220 million companies, provides solutions to support the credit analysis, investment research, tax risk, transfer pricing, compliance and third-party due diligence needs of financial institutions, corporations, professional services firms and governmental authorities worldwide.
Moody’s said Monday it will use cash held outside the U.S., as well as new debt financing, to acquire Bureau van Dijk, with the deal expected to close in the third quarter of 2017.
“This acquisition provides significant opportunities for Moody’s Analytics to offer complementary products, create new risk solutions and extend its reach to new and evolving market segments,” Moody’s CEO Raymond McDaniel said in a news release.
The Financial Times reported that Moody’s is aiming to expand Bureau van Dijk’s data platform into Asia and the U.S. and the deal “will also bolster efforts to diversify its business. More than two-thirds of Bureau van Dijk customers operate in non-financial sectors.”
Bureau van Dijk was acquired by Swedish private-equity firm EQT from Charterhouse Capital Partners in 2014. Last year, it generated revenue of $281 million and EBITDA of $144 million.
“By putting together our analytics platform with Bureau van Dijk’s data we will be able to offer a broader set of services to our customers across the globe,” said Mark Almeida, president of Moody’s Analytics.
Cost savings from combining the two businesses are expected to reach $45 million by 2019 and $80 million by 2021. Earlier this month, Moody’s reported that first-quarter revenue rose 19% to $975 million compared to the same period in 2016, while net income jumped to $346 million from $184 million last year.
“The addition of Bureau van Dijk’s powerful information platform to Moody’s Analytics’ suite of risk management solutions presents a wide range of opportunities for us to better serve our combined customer base,” Mark Schwerzel, deputy CEO of Bureau van Dijk, said.
