RiskMetrics Group Acquires Institutional Shareholder Services Inc

RiskMetrics Group, the financial risk management firm will be acquiring Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS). ISS is a provider of proxy voting and corporate governance applications to the institutional marketplace. The merger reflects the broader vision of both companies to

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RiskMetrics Group, the financial risk management firm will be acquiring Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS). ISS is a provider of proxy voting and corporate governance applications to the institutional marketplace. The merger reflects the broader vision of both companies to expand beyond their core businesses of financial risk management and corporate governance to offer a broad range of data, analytics and advice to investors.

Combined, RiskMetrics Group and ISS will generate over USD 200 million in revenue per year with approximately 800 employees across 23 offices serving over 2400 clients worldwide. Spun-out of JP Morgan in September of 1998, RiskMetrics Group is the leading provider of financial risk analytics to banks, central banks, hedge funds, asset managers, pension funds and corporations. Founded in 1985, Institutional Shareholder Services has built a reputation as the world-leader in corporate governance research, proxy voting services and analytical databases.

“As financial markets become more important and complex, RiskMetrics Group is committed to providing expertise and leadership to all market participants,” says Ethan Berman, the Chief Executive Officer of RiskMetrics. “The addition of ISS to RiskMetrics Group brings another important capability to that community.”

“The combination of ISS and RiskMetrics Group will deliver profoundly important benefits to our combined clients, to our combined staff and to the financial services industry as a whole,” adds John M. Connolly, the President and Chief Executive Officer of ISS. “Both ISS and RiskMetrics have been tremendously successful on their own. Now, by bringing together our industry leading solutions, our respective areas of expertise and our acute understanding of institutional investors’ needs, we will be in a position to serve an even broader range of fiduciary and risk management requirements.”

All members of the RiskMetrics Group board and its three investors, Spectrum Equity Investors, General Atlantic, and Technology Crossover Ventures, backed the deal, which is expected to close by year-end or shortly thereafter. ISS will operate as a separate, wholly-owned subsidiary of RiskMetrics Group with John M. Connolly remaining CEO and operations largely unchanged. Connolly will also join the RiskMetrics Group board. Credit Suisse advised ISS in connection with the transaction. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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