NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--News Corp announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and related assets, including the Coal, Mining and Metals business from S&P Global and IHS Markit.
OPIS, a highly profitable and growing digital data, analytics and insights provider, will join Dow Jones’ professional information business, expanding Dow Jones’ presence in the energy, commodities and renewables markets.
News Corp acquired OPIS for $1.150 billion in a cash transaction, subject to customary adjustments (and expects to receive an estimated tax benefit of $180 million as part of the transaction1). News Corp also has an agreement to acquire the Base Chemicals business from S&P Global and IHS Markit; that acquisition is expected to close in the coming months.
“The OPIS acquisition will significantly enhance our ability to provide high-quality, high-margin professional products in the energy sector, including renewables and carbon benchmarking, for which there is urgent demand from serious companies,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp. “Both OPIS and Base Chemicals are digital and particularly profitable, and we expect their positive financial impact will be obvious to investors. The fact that both sales were required for regulatory approval of the S&P Global and IHS Markit merger ensured that we were able to make the acquisitions for rather attractive multiples.”
"This is an historic moment for Dow Jones, reflecting our continued commitment to investing in premium, proprietary data, analysis and journalism to help our customers make decisions,” said Almar Latour, Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal. “OPIS will help Dow Jones expand the reach of our information services to new industries and segments. Together we will provide a formidable offering of information and analysis to help the global energy community navigate the rapidly changing landscape, including the ongoing transition to sustainability.”
Brian Crotty, General Manager of OPIS, said “Dow Jones has a reputation for being a source of truth for business news and information, delivering compelling editorial analysis that is backed by data. By joining forces, and bringing together our complementary methodologies, we further enhance our ability to deliver a premium product for our customers. Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for our business as we join the Dow Jones family.”
OPIS, founded in 1977, is a global industry standard for benchmark and reference pricing and news and analytics for the oil, natural gas liquids and biofuels industries, and a growing provider of insights and analytics in renewables and carbon pricing.
OPIS will help Dow Jones in its goal of building the leading global business news and information platform for professionals. With its valuable data, which is used as a currency for the industry, OPIS has deep and trusted customer relationships with high renewal rates, and a seasoned management team with an average of 18 years of experience.
Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, OPIS also has offices in Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Romania and Singapore. The company employs approximately 400 professionals globally.
News Corp reported its FY 2022 Second Quarter results on February 3, 2022. In Q2, Dow Jones revenues increased 14%. News Corp had record revenues and profitability in the quarter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events, and these statements are subject to factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The words “expect,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “believe,” “potential” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include statements with respect to, among other things, the expected timing for the completion of the Base Chemicals acquisition and the potential benefits from the acquisition of OPIS. Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date and News Corp and Dow Jones undertake no obligation (and expressly disclaim any obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
About News Corp
News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. The company comprises businesses across a range of media, including: digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing. Headquartered in New York, News Corp operates primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and its content and other products and services are distributed and consumed worldwide. More information is available at: http://www.newscorp.com.
1 News Corp expects to receive a step up in tax basis resulting in an annual deduction over the next 15 years with an estimated tax benefit of $180 million on a present value basis.
