IHS to Buy Energy Pricing Data Pioneer OPIS

US-based energy and environment intelligence specialist IHS has agreed to acquire Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), which reports prices for the oil, natural gas and biofuels industries, for $650m.

OPIS, currently owned by privately held business information and tech portfolio company UCG, employs 281 people and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The firm pioneered 'rack' price discovery for thousands of wholesalers, and now publishing more than 30,000 rack prices each day at over 1,500 terminals in nearly 400 market locations. Internationally, it is the largest aggregator of retail petroleum pricing, covering more than 300,000 retail locations in over 30 countries.

IHS says OPIS primarily serves the downstream energy market and will help to further diversify its Energy portfolio. IHS Chairman and CEO Jerre Stead (pictured) says the buy gives the company visibility across the entire petroleum value chain, from wellhead to consumer. He adds: 'Specifically, OPIS is the leader in the rack and retail downstream refined products pricing and it also has a strong position in the spot market. We expect to continue to see strong growth in these areas as well as future growth contributions from International downstream spot-market pricing'. Along with the recent acquisition of CARPROOF, it should also provide high EBITDA margin and strong organic growth.

Following the acquisition, which is still subject to regulatory approval, Stead says IHS plans to add commodity coverage areas and expand further outside of OPIS' core US market. IHS bought Aberdeen, Scotland-based oil and gas information provider Rushmore Reviews a year ago, and also owns automotive research specialist R.L. Polk & Co.

OPIS CEO Brian Crotty says his firm's customers across the oil supply chain 'can look forward to seeing further improvements in real-time news and pricing service, and market-specific benchmark pricing reports thanks to the acquisition'.

IHS,traded on the NY Stock Exchange since 2005, is headquartered in Englewood, CO, USA and around 8,600 people in 32 countries worldwide. Web sites are at www.ihs.com and www.opisnet.com .