UK Watchdog Serves Initial Enforcement Order Over S&P Global's Acquisition of IHS Markit

By Anthony O. Goriainoff

The U.K. markets regulator said on Wednesday that it had served an initial enforcement order in relation to the anticipated acquisition of IHS Markit Ltd. by S&P Global Inc.

Earlier this year, the U.K. Competitions and Markets Authority said that S&P Global's planned $44 billion acquisition of IHS Markit--which was announced in November 2020--could harm competition within its markets and that it was considering whether to accept undertakings from the companies to address this.

Both parties entered into a legally binding conditional agreement on July 31 to divest IHSM's Oil Price Information business and Coal, Metals and Mining division to News Corp. News Corp is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.

The regulator said that pending its final decision IHSM and IHSM UK should minimize any risk of loss of competitive potential of the businesses to be divested. The companies have also offered further undertakings to the CMA.

The CMA said it has until Dec. 30 to decide whether to accept these undertakings and that this timeframe could be extended to Feb. 25 if it considered that there were special reasons for doing so.

Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2021 08:19 ET (13:19 GMT)

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