Data providers Markit and IHS are to combine in a $13bn stock deal to create a financial and corporate¹ information powerhouse to challenge Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters.

数据提供商Markit和IHS将通过一宗130亿美元的换股交易实现合并，以打造出一家能挑战彭博(Bloomberg)和汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)的金融及企业信息巨擘。

The merger² is the largest in a wave of takeover activity among market intelligence companies over the past two years, bringing together Markit’s proprietary³ credit market data with IHS, which is best known for its energy, commodity and transportation⁴ sector⁵ analysis.

这一合并是两年来的一波市场情报公司并购潮中最大的一宗，它将Markit专有的信用市场数据与IHS整合在一起，后者最为人所知的是其对能源、大宗商品及交通运输业的分析。

Shareholders⁶ in US-based IHS will own 57 per cent of the combined company, while investors⁷ in London-headquartered Markit will hold the reminder⁸.

总部位于美国的IHS的股东，将持有合并后公司57%的股份；总部位于伦敦的Markit的股东，将持有剩余的股份。

It will also allow IHS to relocate its corporate tax base to the UK, in a politically controversially manouevre known as a tax inversion⁹. A feature of the boom in mergers¹⁰ and acquisitions, the move allows a US company to capture a lower tax rate by using a takeover to move its domicile overseas.

这宗交易还使得IHS能将其公司税基挪到英国，这是一种被称为“税收倒置”(tax inversion)的存在政治争议的操作。作为并购潮中的一个特有现象，这一举措使得美国企业能利用收购来将其注册地迁至境外，从而享受更低的税率。

IHS said some operations would remain in Englewood, Colorado, where it is based, but added that its anticipated tax rate would be in the “low-to-mid 20 per cent range” after the deal.

IHS表示，其部分业务将留在其总部所在的美国科罗拉多州恩格尔伍德(Englewood)。不过，该公司补充说，交易完成后，其预期税率会在“20%到25%之间”。

“Markit is perfect for IHS. It’s not anchored to a specific desktop¹¹ product in the way that Bloomberg or Reuters are, so it won’t be hit by the cost cuts taking place at banks,” said one person close to the deal.

一位了解该交易的人士表示：“对IHS来说，Markit是完美的并购对象。它不像彭博或路透那样绑定于具体的桌面产品，所以它不会受到银行眼下削减成本之举的冲击。”