Crisil buys British analytics company Coalition for Rs 250cr

It will help the company to expand the service offerings and customer base

Rating agency Crisil today agreed to acquire Britain-based analytics firm Coalition Development and its subsidiaries for around Rs 250 crore (29 million pounds), which will help it expand the service offerings and customer base.

"We have entered into an agreement to buy 100 per cent of the equity shares of England-headquartered Coalition Development along with its subsidiaries in an all-cash deal for Rs 250 crore," Crisil said in a statement.

The deal, advised by Mape Advisory group, has a maximum payout of 29 million pounds with earn-outs over two years linked to achievement of specified milestones for the company's future revenues and profits, Crisil said, adding that it will add to its earnings per share from the first year itself.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Formed in 2002, Coalition, which provides high-end analytics mostly to leading global investment banks, reported topline of 8 million pounds in 2011.

Coalition deploys proprietary analytics and algorithms to provide analytics on market size and dynamics, revenue opportunities and human capital. Its analytics are used by boards, strategy teams and top management at leading financial services institutions, the statement said, adding Coalition will be a part of Crisil's global research & analytics GR&A business.

Crisil managing director and chief executive Roopa Kudva said, "Coalition's cutting-edge analytical capabilities, in-depth understanding of the workings of financial markets and strong relationships with its clients will enable Crisil's GR&A business to widen service offerings, diversify its client base and deepen client relationships."

Coalition chairman and chief executive Trevor Foster-Black said, "We have worked very hard to find the right partner to take Coalition to the next level of growth, and we are delighted to become a part of Crisil."

Crisil GR&A is a top-ranked provider of high-end research and analytics services. It is the world's largest provider of equity and fixed income research services supporting around 90% of global market or over 2,000 stocks, and is also the foremost provider of end-to-end risk and analytics services to trading and risk management functions at the world's leading financial institutions and corporations.

Its teams, based in India, Argentina, China and Poland, annually review over 20% of the global equity derivatives and build and validate over 3,500 models.

Its clients include 12 of the top 15 global i-banks, three of the top 15 global insurers and 37 Fortune 500 companies.