Carfax Owner R.L. Polk Acquired by IHS for $1.4 Billion

By Paul Ausick Updated Apr 27, 6:32PM EDT · Published Jun 10, 7:25AM EDT

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Cars on a lot

Research and information analysis company IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS) announced this morning that it has agreed to acquire auto industry information and analysis firm R.L. Polk & Co. for $1.4 billion. Polk created and owns the popular Carfax vehicle history report, which the company says contains records on more than 11 billion North America vehicles.

IHS’s acquisition will comprise 90% cash and 10% equity. IHS will fund the cash portion of the deal from cash on hand, an existing revolving loan facility and a new term loan.

In addition to Polk, IHS owns analytics firms iSuppli, which provides research services on the technology industry, and oil and energy research stalwart CERA. Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer-prize winning author of “The Prize,” a history of the oil industry, and other books is IHS’s vice-chairman.

Polk’s current annual revenue totals around $400 million, and according to IHS’s chief financial officer, is growing at a rate of mid to high single digits. IHS expects the acquisition to be “significantly accretive” to fiscal 2014 (ending November 2014) earnings per share.

Shares of IHS closed at $106.94 on Friday and are inactive in the premarket this morning. The stock’s 52-week range is $83.02 to $118.93.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.