NYSE listed Clarivate Plc on Thursday said that, “It has came into a definitive agreement to acquire ProQuest from Cambridge Information Group, a family-owned investment firm, and other partners including Atairos for $5.3 billion in equity and cash deal.”
According to the statement, “The consideration for the acquisition is approximately $4.0 billion in cash and $1.3 billion of equity.”
“With a mission to accelerate and improve education, research, and innovation, ProQuest delivers content and technology solutions to over 25,000 academic, corporate, and research organizations in more than 150 countries. The acquisition will establish Clarivate as a premier provider of end-to-end research intelligence solutions and significantly expand its content and data offerings as the addition of ProQuest will materially complement the Clarivate Research Intelligence Cloud,” Clarivate said.
Speaking on the acquisition plan, Jerre Stead, Executive Chairman, and CEO, Clarivate, said, “Clarivate and ProQuest are highly complementary businesses, each with a rich and storied heritage. We share the goal to accelerate innovation through research and knowledge sharing and together we will enable our customers to solve the world’s most complex challenges with content dating back centuries, and technologies that address the needs of 21st-century customers.”
Commenting on the deal, Andy Snyder, Chairman of ProQuest & CEO of Cambridge Information Group, said: “I have seen ProQuest evolve to meet our customers’ ever-changing needs over the last several decades and fully understand that the challenges and opportunities they face have never been greater. I am confident that the company will continue to have the resources required to maintain the impressive track record of innovation that our customers count on – to create a world-leading organization in research and innovation.”
Upon completion of the transaction, two members of the ProQuest Board will join the Clarivate Board, including Andy Snyder, who will have the position of Vice Chairman of the Clarivate Board, and Michael Angelakis, Chairman and CEO of Atairos.
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, is expected to close during the third quarter of 2021.