MSCI has agreed to acquire the remaining 66% of the private assets data and analytics provider The Burgiss Group for $697m in cash.
The acquisition, which is expected to close in Q4, builds on a minority investment made in 2020. In total, MSCI has invested an aggregate of $913m to acquire Burgiss.
MSCI said the combination of its public market and real estate data and analytics solutions and Burgiss' expertise in private asset and total plan investing will help support its clients with "stronger" private asset and multi-asset class solutions.
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The firm's clients will now be able to evaluate fundamental information, measure and compare performance, understand exposures, manage risk and conduct analytics across both private and public asset classes.
The Burgiss dataset covers over 13,000 global private asset funds, representing $15trn in cumulative investments across private equity, private real estate, private debt, infrastructure and natural resources in 195 countries.
This acquisition will also expand MSCI's suite of multi-asset class technology solutions with the Burgiss Caissa Platform, which provides a comprehensive view of the drivers of performance and risk in both public and private investments in total portfolios.
Henry Fernandez, chair and CEO at MSCI, said the acquisition of Burgiss marks a "transformational milestone" for MSCI, reinforcing the group's commitment to "driving innovation and transparency" across the global private asset investment landscape.
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"By combining Burgiss' comprehensive private asset data and analytics with MSCI's expertise in research, analytics, data and technology for investments across public asset classes, we are aiming to redefine total portfolio investing and build solutions that can help investors manage their complex portfolios and make better informed decisions," he said.
Jim Kocis, founder and CEO at Burgiss, added: "The combination with MSCI marks a significant landmark event in Burgiss' journey. In this next phase, our combined capabilities are poised to create even more powerful solutions that can help better navigate and drive innovation across private assets."
