ESG research firm Sustainalytics purchased certain assets from Solaron Sustainability Services, a provider of environmental, social and governance ratings and research to global investors, confirmed Sustainalytics spokeswoman Cheryl Gustitus.
Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
Effective immediately, 26 of Solaron's professionals will join Sustainalytics. The about 10 remaining Solaron employees decided not to join Sustainalytics and will pursue other opportunities, Ms. Gustitus said.
Founded in 2007 by Vipul and Sonali Arora, Solaron provides specialized ESG research to institutional investors, with an emphasis on analyzing investment risk associated with emerging market companies' ESG-specific issues. It provides local language analysis across more than 10 markets, including India, Brazil and other countries in Latin America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Vipul Arora will join Sustainalytics, while Sonali Arora will not as she had already been ratcheting down her active participation in the Solaron business, and this was a good time for her to transition out, Ms. Gustitus said.
"Integrating Solaron's team of analysts, with their emerging market expertise and deep-dive approach to assessing companies' ESG performance, will allow Sustainalytics to provide its clients with truly differentiated ESG-related research services," said Sustainalytics CEO Michael Jantzi in a news release announcing the deal.
Sustainalytics will take advantage of Solaron's ratings platform to enhance several development initiatives already underway and integrate its resources to develop customized research services for its clients. Ms. Gustitus said one of the big things reasons for the acquisition was not only the people, but Solaron's ESG controversies research, which explains when companies are involved in various ESG controversies.
Separately, in 2015, Sustainalytics acquired Zurich-based ESG Analytics, a provider of analysis software that helps money managers and asset owners to analyze and manage ESG risk and opportunities. More recently, in July, Morningstar acquired a 40% stake in Sustainalytics.
