British technology firm Clarivate announced Monday it has reached a deal to acquire Ann Arbor-based global software, data and analytics provider ProQuest in a deal reportedly worth some $5.3 billion.
The deal, in which Clarivate will acquire ProQuest from Cambridge Information Group, a family owned investment firm which acquired ProQuest in 2007, and other partners, could close in the third quarter of 2021.
According to a release from Clarivate, the deal includes $4 billion in cash and $1.3 billion in equity and would add more than $875 million in revenue to Clarivate’s balance sheet, the company said in the release.
“Clarivate and ProQuest are highly complementary businesses, each with a rich and storied heritage,” Clarivate Executive Chairman and CEO Jerre Stead said. “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.”
ProQuest delivers content and technology solutions to more than 25,000 academic, corporate and research organizations in more than 150 countries. According to the release, the acquisition will establish Clarivate as a “premier provider of end-to-end research intelligence solutions.”
Bringing together these two customer-focused businesses with a purpose to accelerate innovation at their core “creates a world-leading software and information provider for research-focused organizations to fuel scientific discovery and innovation into the future.”
Andy Snyder, chairman of ProQuest and CEO of Cambridge Information Group, said he’s seen ProQuest “evolve to meet our customers’ ever-changing needs over the last several decades.”
“(I) fully understand that the challenges and opportunities they face have never been greater,” Snyder said in the release. “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 Snyder, who will have the position of Vice Chairman of the Clarivate Board, and Michael Angelakis, Chairman and CEO of Atairos.
