Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp and Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) have agreed to publicly list Clarivate Analytics, a Philadelphia-based owner and operator of subscription-based businesses, per an announcement on Monday.
Clarivate, which was acquired by Onex and BPEA from Thomson Reuters in 2016, will list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as a result of its merger with Churchill Capital Corp, a special purpose investment vehicle.
The transaction implies an enterprise value of approximately $4.2 billion, the companies said in a statement.
“This transaction is an exciting milestone in Clarivate’s history and will provide it with even more flexibility to pursue any number of organic and acquisitive growth opportunities,” said Kosty Gilis, a Managing Director with Onex.
The group comprising, Onex, BPEA, and affiliated funds, will retain 100 per cent equity in Clarivate, which will convert to about 74 per cent ownership of the combined entity’s outstanding shares at closing, which is expected in Q2 2019. The remaining outstanding shares of Clarivate will be held by the founders and current stockholders of Churchill.
The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of both Churchill and Clarivate.
Churchill, led by Chief Executive Officer Jerre Stead, was formed to pursue opportunities in the information services segment of the broader technology services and software industry. The company raised $690 million of cash in an initial public offering in September 2018.
Stead is the former chairman and chief Executive officer of IHS Markit. Upon completion of the transaction, he will become Clarivate’s executive chairman, the statement added.
Nicholas Macksey, a managing director with BPEA, said: “We’re excited to be working with Jerre whose experience and network will allow the company to further accelerate its expansion throughout Asia, which is already the fastest growing market for Clarivate’s data and related services.”
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