IHS Markit Announces Acquisition of automotiveMastermind Inc., Leader in Predictive Analytics for the Automotive Industry
Expands automobile data and insight offerings across professional and retail markets
September 26, 2017 06:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in information, analytics and solutions, today announced the acquisition of automotiveMastermind Inc., the leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation software for the automotive industry.
Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind currently provides U.S. automotive dealers with behavior prediction analytics software and marketing solutions that improve the vehicle purchase process and results. The company’s cloud-based technology helps dealers precisely predict automobile-buying behavior and automates the creation of micro-targeted customer communications, leading to proven higher sales and more consistent customer retention.
“The acquisition of automotiveMastermind opens up a key new market for IHS Markit, and increases our presence in the vehicle retail space,” said Jerre Stead, chairman and CEO, IHS Markit. “It’s an excellent strategic fit for us within our overall portfolio, and helps to fill out our existing offerings by leveraging predictive analytics to improve the buyer experience. We now deliver unparalleled insight and analytics across the automotive lifecycle: from vehicle strategy and product planning, to vehicle sales, marketing and repair.”
“Through our core automotive assets, which includes CARFAX, we already provide our global automotive customers with a comprehensive suite of information services and analytics,” said Jonathan Gear, executive vice president of transportation and resources for IHS Markit. “The addition of automotiveMastermind extends our capabilities further. It enables us to deliver a powerful set of tools — including data aggregation and analytics driven by machine learning — that will help OEMs and dealers sell cars more effectively.”
“We could not be more excited since there is no better partner to help us realize our vision of radically transforming the traditional consumer purchase journey,” said Marco Schnabl, co-founder of automotiveMastermind. “The vast resources offered by IHS Markit will help us achieve that vision faster.” Added co-founder Johannes Gnauck, “Our behavior prediction technology will be exponentially richer by leveraging the wealth of IHS Markit data assets.”
Currently, automotiveMastermind works with dealers across 15 automotive brands. automotiveMastermind is headquartered in New York City with a product innovation hub in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.automotivemastermind.com.
IHS Markit acquired approximately 78 percent of automotiveMastermind for a purchase price of approximately $392 million, which can increase up to $435 million tied to underlying business performance. IHS Markit will acquire the remaining 22 percent over the next five years based on valuation tied to underlying business performance. More details will be presented during the IHS Markit third quarter 2017 earnings call, which begins today at 8:00 am ET.
automotiveMastermind’s exclusive financial advisor is Jefferies LLC and legal advisor is Goodwin Procter LLP.
About IHS Markit (www.ihsmarkit.com)
IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and expertise for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 key business and government customers, including 85 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions.
IHS Markit is a registered trademark of IHS Markit Ltd. and/or its affiliates. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners © 2017 IHS Markit Ltd. All rights reserved.
About automotiveMastermind (www.automotivemastermind.com)
Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind is the leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation technology for the automotive industry. The company’s cloud-based platform helps dealers precisely predict automobile-buying behavior and automates the creation of micro-targeted consumer communications, leading to proven higher sales and more consistent customer retention. automotiveMastermind currently works with more than 1,000 dealer partners. Headquartered in New York City and San Francisco, automotiveMastermind has now tripled its employee count in the last year. For more information, visit automotivemastermind.com or follow on Twitter @autoMastermind.
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IHS Markit
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Investor Relations Contact:
Eric Boyer, +1 303-397-2969
