Fitch Group said it had bought Business Monitor International or BMI, a statement about the deal said. Financial details of the transaction were not provided. Growth equity investment firm Spectrum Equity in partnership with the founders and workers of BMI were the previous owners of BMI.
Fitch Group is a worldwide leader in financial information services while BMI is engaged in the business of providing "country risk and industry analysis," particularly in the emerging and frontier markets. With the acquisition, Fitch Group is able to bolster and grow the portfolio of financial information services it gives to its clients.
Fitch Group President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Taylor said in the statement, "We are excited to add BMI's world-class research, data, and analytical capabilities to Fitch's global suite of financial information services. BMI and Fitch share a commitment to pairing robust data with sophisticated analysis to produce content that is insightful and accessible."
As a result of the deal, BMI will still function as an independent firm and will be called Business Monitor International, a Fitch Group Company. BMI Founders and Co-Chief Executive Officers Richard Londesborough and Jonathan Feroze will still be heading the company and will report directly to Paul Taylor. Decision makers of multinational companies, governments, the academe, investment funds, financial institutions and research companies in over 160 countries rely on the products of BMI, the statement said.
Londesborough and Feroze said in the statement, "The strategic fit between BMI and Fitch Group is excellent, not least in terms of the entrepreneurial culture shared by both companies. Clients will benefit from a broader platform of research products, greater global reach and Fitch Group's focus on growth."
In addition to BMI, the Fitch Group is now comprised of Fitch Ratings, Fitch Solutions and Fitch Learning. The joint owners of the Fitch Group are Fimalac, a Paris-based firm and New York-based Hearst Corporation, the statement said.
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