MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Investor Force Holdings, Inc., an ICG company (Nasdaq: ICGE) and a leading provider of performance measurement and reporting software to institutional investment consultants in the United States. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, subject to customary closing conditions.
The total consideration for Investor Force Holdings, Inc. is $23.5 million, subject to a final working capital adjustment. The acquisition will be funded through existing cash and is not expected to have a material impact on MSCI's results of operations.
The InvestorForce platform is used by institutional investment consultants to report on over $3.5 trillion of assets for over 3,500 institutional plans.
"We believe the combination of MSCI and InvestorForce presents a unique opportunity to strengthen the network between asset owners, investment consultants and managers around the world," said Henry Fernandez, Chairman and CEO, MSCI Inc. "This acquisition enhances MSCI's position as a leader in performance analysis and risk transparency and furthers our goal of providing investment decision support tools to institutional investors across all client segments and asset classes."
Jim Morrissey, CEO of InvestorForce, said, "InvestorForce's goal has long been to drive efficiencies for and expand the influence of the investment consultant. We believe that becoming part of MSCI, with its global footprint and resources, will significantly enhance our ability to do just that. MSCI's risk management products, including Barra and RiskMetrics, and its strength in benchmarking make it a natural fit for the InvestorForce performance reporting platform, and we are very excited about the benefits this transaction will bring to our clients and employees."
"InvestorForce's powerful suite of tools, including performance reporting and peer benchmarking analytics, strongly complements MSCI's performance measurement and risk management analytics products and services," Mr. Fernandez added. "The acquisition will enable us to strengthen our existing relationships with investment consultants and broadens our role as a key provider of tools to the pension and consultant community."
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