Moody’s to make €3bn acquisition

According to a statement, the acquisition of Bureau van Dijk will be funded through a combination of offshore cash and new debt financing.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in the European Union and is expected to close late in the third quarter of 2017, the statement said.

Moody’s president and chief executive Raymond McDaniel said the acquisition provides significant opportunities to offer complementary products, create new risk solutions and extend its reach to new and evolving market segments.

“Bureau van Dijk is a high growth information aggregator and distributor that positions Moody’s at the centre of a unique network of global risk data,” Mr McDaniel said.

Bureau van Dijk deputy chief executive Mark Schwerzel said Moody’s has a strong brand and global reach.

“The addition of Bureau van Dijk’s powerful information platform to Moody’s Analytics’ suite of risk management solutions presents a wide range of opportunities for us to better serve our combined customer base,” Mr Schwerzel said.