New York-based private equity firm Veritas Capital has closed the $3.1bn acquisition of energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie from Verisk.
The acquired company will be led by Mark Brinin, who has been promoted from co-president to chief executive officer. Joe Levesque has been appointed as president and chief operating officer.
“To be returning to our roots as a standalone company and partnering with a firm with Veritas’ track record places us in a unique and enviable peer group. In Veritas, we have found a strategic partner that will enable us to realise greater value for our customers, both in mature markets we have served for the last five decades, as well as in the evolving power and renewables sector which is currently driving the global energy transition,” remarked Brinin.
Verisk bought Wood Mackenzie in 2015 from buyout firm Hellman & Friedman. The sale also includes an additional contingent payment of up to $200m in the future for Verisk. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell served as legal counsel to Verisk in connection with the transaction.
