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MW News Corp to pay $295 million in cash to buy Base Chemicals from S&P Global, IHS Markit

News Corp $(NWSA)$ announced Monday an agreement to buy the Base Chemicals business from S&P Global Inc. $(SPGI)$ and IHS Markit Ltd. (INFO) for $295 million in cash. Base Chemicals, which is known for its pricing data, insights, analysis and forecasting capabilities for base chemicals, has about 185 employees and was expected to generate about $65 million in revenue for the fiscal year ended Nov. 30. "We are delighted with the opportunistic acquisition of Base Chemicals, which complements our purchase of OPIS, and will certainly strengthen the highly profitable and decidedly digital Professional Information Business at Dow Jones," said News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson. "From setting price benchmarks for chemicals, to tracking renewables and monitoring resource trends that impact most companies, we expect the incomparable intelligence of Base Chemicals, combined with the news and analysis of Dow Jones, will be formidable and lucrative." News Corp is the parent of Dow Jones and MarketWatch, the publisher of this report. The deal comes after the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority requested IHS Markit divest the business as part of the S&P Global and IHS Markit merger plans. News Corp's stock, which rose 0.2% in premarket trading, has advanced 26.9% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 25.8%.

-Tomi Kilgore

$(END)$ Dow Jones Newswires

December 27, 2021 08:27 ET (13:27 GMT)

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