IHS to buy R.L. Polk & Co. for $1.4 billion
Business research and analytics giant IHS Inc. said Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire automotive information and marketing firm R.L. Polk & Co. for $1.4 billion.
Polk is the 15th acquisition that rapidly expanding IHS, based in Colorado, has made since the beginning of 2012.
“The acquisition of R.L. Polk brings extensive and complementary information and analytical solutions that would establish IHS as a vital strategic partner of the global automotive value chain,” said IHS President and Chief Executive Scott Key.
R.L. Polk has two divisions -- Polk and Carfax -- that provide “market intelligence, powerful tools and analytics and extensive vehicle history data,” IHS said in a statement.
In an interview, Key said Polk is part of a series of acquisitions involving automotive information and research that essentially covers “the life cycle of the car, from cradle to grave. No one has been able to do that before.”
Stephen Polk, chairman, president and chief executive of R.L. Polk & Co., said: “The IHS global reach would expand the unique and vital role we’ve played in the auto industry over all these years, helping stakeholders across the value chain.”
IHS had acquired a total of 29 companies since the beginning of 2010, extending its reach across a broad spectrum of business research and analysis.
Among the more notable transactions:
In 2007, IHS acquired Jane’s Information Group, the more than 100-year-old British publishing company specializing in military, aerospace and transportation topics.
In 2008, the company added Global Insight Inc., which provides information, analysis and consulting services to corporations, financial institutions and governments.
In 2009, it completed the acquisition of Lloyd’s Register-Fairplay.
“We have been building in a very targeted and strategic way,” Key said in the interview.
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