IHS Acquiring Two Environmental Information Companies
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS), a leading global source of critical information and insight, today announced it is acquiring two leading environmental information companies, Dolphin Software, Inc., and Environmental Software Providers (ESP), for a combined purchase price of $43.5 million. The acquisitions are aligned with the IHS strategy of being the source for insight and information in the areas of energy, product lifecycle, security and environment.
“The additions of ESP and Dolphin to our portfolio come at a time when environmental and sustainability issues are of significant and growing importance to all businesses and governments worldwide,” said IHS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerre Stead. ”Our global customers need information and insight in these core environmental areas: climate change, environmental information management and sustainability reporting, and chemical lifecycle management. ESP and Dolphin, combined with our recent acquisition of EnvironMax, a leading supplier of Environmental Management Information software and services, further strengthen the IHS position as a leader in the environment information domain for customers worldwide.”
Dolphin Software, based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leader in developing and using chemical data and formula information to take companies to the evolving discipline of Total Chemical Management, which includes sustainability, supply chain greening and social responsibility.
The company’s proprietary software and unique attribution of chemical information allows users to record and track chemicals – from simple cleaning supplies to toxic materials — used and stored at their facilities.
Dolphin also has established key relationships with environmental industry influencers and is helping drive change in the area of “green” chemical design, product selection and product score carding that will affect supply chain behavior encouraging environmentally friendly products reaching consumers.
“Our mission has been the greening of our customers’ workplaces,” said Mark Wysong, chief executive officer, Dolphin Software. “Our ability to deliver those green choice alternatives increases substantially as a part of IHS, by being able to tap in to the power of the IHS distribution system and time-to-market, as well as the IHS reach and reputation with customers worldwide.”
The acquisition closed today with IHS acquiring Dolphin for approximately $23.5 million in cash. Dolphin was advised by Sparring Partners Capital, an investment banking advisory firm.
Environmental Software Providers (ESP), based in Mountain View, California, is a leading provider of enterprise information solutions to help companies manage their corporate-wide sustainability programs. ESP’s solutions include greenhouse gas management, air, water, and waste management, internal and regulatory compliance assurance incident management and management of emissions allowance and credit portfolios. ESP solutions are used to help companies manage and report on all aspects of their sustainability, from local regulatory compliance to worldwide corporate sustainability goals.
ESP’s global reach with customers in 60 countries is unsurpassed in the environmental software arena. Its software includes industry-best features and functionality deployed over a common platform, including customizable dashboards and the ability to measure and track assets and program characteristics over time, with changing conditions and data inputs at different frequencies. These are critical features to handle complex emission calculations, to support the ability to forecast the emissions footprint into the future, and support decision-making related to emission allowances and credits.
“We at ESP are incredibly excited about being part of a new sustainability information market leader built upon the respective and well-proven strengths of EnvironMax, Dolphin and ESP,” said Alexander B. Long, president and chief executive officer, ESP. “At a pivotal time when progressive companies worldwide are making environmental stewardship and corporate sustainability a core part of their mission and operations, we will now be able to provide an increased breadth of content and new functionality that is unique and much needed.”
IHS and ESP have signed a definitive agreement for acquisition, subject to ESP shareholder approval and customary closing conditions. Closing is expected to occur before the end of the month. Terms of the deal are approximately $20 million in cash.
A conference call with IHS Chairman and CEO Jerre Stead to discuss the acquisitions will be conducted today, March 3, at 11:00 a.m. MST/ 1:00 p.m. EST/ 6:00 p.m. GMT. Media and investors can participate on the call by visiting the IHS website at http://www.ihs.com/Investor-Relations/ir-calendar.htm and logging on at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call, or by dialing in the U.S. +1 800 591-6923 or International callers +1 617 614-4907 and entering the passcode 35212628.
A replay of this webcast will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the live event today. To access the webcast recording, visit http://www.ihs.com/Investor-Relations/ir-calendar.htm.
About IHS (www.ihs.com)
IHS (NYSE: IHS) is a leading global source of critical information and insight for customers in a broad range of industries. Our customer product and service solutions span four major areas of information: energy, product lifecycle management, environmental and security. By focusing on our customers first, we deliver data and expertise that enable innovative and successful decision-making. Customers range from governments and multinational companies to smaller companies and technical professionals in more than 180 countries. IHS has been in business since 1959 and employs more than 3,000 people in 35 locations around the world.
IHS is a registered trademark of IHS Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2008 IHS Inc. All rights reserved.
