Consolidation Ahead Clarivate Set to Acquire ProQuest

摘要

Clarivate will pay $5.3 billion for ProQuest, $4.0 billion in cash and the remaining $1.3 billion in equity. Clarivate will also refinance ProQuest debt, which hovers around $1 billion. The financing of the transaction will come partially come from the $1.93 billion to be raised via a secondary public equity offering of ordinary shares and convertible preferred shares, announced on June 8,2021. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, with the caveat of successfully passing necessary regulatory scrutiny. ProQuest chairman Andy Snyder will become vice chairman on the Clarivate board, and Michael Angelakis, chairman and CEO of Atairos, will also join the Clarivate board.Both Clarivate and ProQuest are deeply embedded, worldwide, in libraries of all types. Thus, this industry consolidation has significant implications outside the investment world, despite Clarivate being a public company. ProQuest divulged that 62% of its revenues derive from its content business and 34% from software. The other 4%? No mention made of its source. The majority of the ProQuest customer base is in higher education, and 40% of customers are outside North America.