News Corp has agreed to buy three commodity pricing data businesses from IHS Markit, the sale of which were seen as an important regulatory prerequisite to complete a USD 44bn merger between IHS and S&P Global.

In a joint statement, IHS and S&P said that the deal “represents an important milestone on the path to regulatory approval” for the merger. IHS was advised earlier this year to divest from its Oil Price Information Services; Coal, Metals and Mining; and PetroChem Wire businesses before regulators would approve its merger with S&P.

News Corp will pay USD 1.15bn for the three businesses, which supply pricing data for fuel commodities. The new acquisitions will become part of Dow Jones’ professional information business, which includes Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Newswires and Factiva, according to The Wall Street Journal.

S&P announced last December that it would acquire IHS for USD 44bn, in an all-stock deal that would combine two of the largest data providers on Wall Street. The combined entity is expected to marry S&P’s expertise in country- and company-level debt ratings and data on capital and commodity markets, with IHS’s pricing and reference data, particularly within the automotive, energy, financial services, defence and maritime sectors.

Both the merger and the divesture are subject to further review and approval by regulators and antitrust authorities. The firms’ updated statement noted the merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

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