Verisk Analytics to acquire WoodMac in £1.85bn deal

Verisk Analytics has agreed to buy Edinburgh-based WoodMac from San Francisco private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for £1.85bn.

Sources cited by Reuters claim the Nasdaq-listed data analytics provider could announce the deal as early as Tuesday, even though representatives from both sides had yet to officially confirm the agreement.

WoodMac, which was bought by Hellman & Friedman in 2012, focuses on gathering and analysing and has almost 800 global energy clients and had been rumoured to be aiming to raise up to £2bn in an initial public offering.