Morningstar is to acquire 100% ownership of Sustainanalytics, a Dutch-domiciled provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings and research.
Morningstar currently owns a 40% stake in Sustainalytics, first acquired in 2017, and will purchase the remaining 60% of shares for an initial consideration of EUR 55 million, with an earn-out based on fiscal 2020 and 2021 revenue.
In total, Morningstar estimates the enterprise value of Sustainalytics to be EUR170 million.
Sustainanalytics is widely known for its security-level ESG Risk Ratings - which are integrated into institutional investment processes and underpin numerous indexes and sustainable investment products - offering data on 40,000 companies worldwide and ratings on 20,000 companies in 172 countries. The business employs 650 staff worldwide spanning 16 locations.
Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor, says: “By coming together, Morningstar and Sustainalytics will fast track our ability to put independent, sustainable investing analytics at every level - from a single security through to a portfolio view - in the hands of all investors.”