ProQuest bought by Clarivate in $5.3bn deal

US information and technology company ProQuest has been bought by scientific and academic analytics firm Clarivate in a $5.3bn (£3.8bn) deal.

The transaction, which sees ProQuest acquired from investment firm Cambridge Information Group and other partners, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approval.

ProQuest is an information and technology company based in Michigan, which owns library systems companies Ex Libris and Innovative, among others. The company, which had revenues of $876m in 2020, delivers content and technology services to more than 25,000 academic, corporate and research organisations around the globe.

London-based Clarivate said the acquisition would establish it as “a premier provider of end-to-end research intelligence solutions” and significantly expand its content and data offerings.

“By bringing together these two customer-focused businesses with a purpose to accelerate innovation at their core, we will create a world-leading software and information provider for research-focused organizations to fuel scientific discovery and innovation into the future,” the company said.

Clarivate said the deal would also give it access to complementary markets including public and research libraries. Buying ProQuest will also help the company move beyond its traditional business of journal publication data and citations into a wider range of information sources.

Jerre Stead, executive chairman and c.e.o. of Clarivate commented: “Clarivate and ProQuest are highly complementary businesses, each with a rich and storied heritage. We share the goal to accelerate innovation through research and knowledge sharing and together we will enable our customers to solve the world’s most complex challenges with content dating back centuries, and technologies that address the needs of 21st-century customers.”

Andy Snyder, chairman of ProQuest and c.e.o. of Cambridge Information Group, added: “I have seen ProQuest evolve to meet our customers’ ever-changing needs over the last several decades and fully understand that the challenges and opportunities they face have never been greater. I am confident that the company will continue to have the resources required to maintain the impressive track record of innovation that our customers count on—to create a world leading organization in research and innovation.”