What was changed
In November 2020, with markets volatile and demand for financial data high, S&P Global agreed to merge with IHS Markit in an all-stock deal valuing IHS Markit at $44 billion including net debt. Each IHS Markit share would convert into 0.2838 S&P Global shares.
The decision was a platform bet. S&P said the merger would combine ratings, indices, commodities, transportation, engineering, risk and data assets, with about $480 million of annual run-rate cost synergies and $350 million of revenue synergies expected.
The deal closed in February 2022. S&P Global's 2022 filing said IHS Markit became a wholly owned subsidiary, contributed $3.799 billion of revenue from the acquisition date, and pushed the company to reorganize from four reportable segments to six.
What it achieved
The completed merger added $3.799B of IHS Markit revenue to 2022 results and created six reportable segments.
Why it worked
All-stock consideration let S&P do a very large acquisition without draining cash during an uncertain period.
IHS Markit expanded S&P's workflow data beyond ratings and indices into mobility, commodity and engineering information.
The merger was paired with divestitures and a segment reorganization, showing management treated integration as architecture, not just scale.
What can be applied
A data company can use a volatile market to buy adjacent workflows, then reorganize around customer use cases rather than legacy product silos.
Aftermath
The combined company had to divest OPIS, coal, metals, petrochemicals and other businesses for regulatory approval, but it emerged as a broader information-services platform spanning Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices and Engineering Solutions.
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