S&P Global Inc., New York, agreed to acquire the environmental, social and governance ratings tool of RobecoSAM, SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, spokesmen at both firms confirmed Thursday.
Two units of SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment — one administering the SAM CSA for the purpose of issuing ESG ratings and the other enabling in-depth reporting back to companies — will be integrated into S&P Global, the firm's spokesman said.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Though the acquisition isn't set to close until the first quarter of 2020, subject to closing conditions, S&P Global said it will provide clients access to proprietary and unique datasets based on RobecoSAM's information analyzing over 4,700 companies since 1999.
Robeco and RobecoSAM will continue to have access to the CSA data for its investment strategies and are to provide advice on the CSA methodology.
"Through this acquisition, S&P Global is bringing an additional layer of critical insight to our leading suite of ESG product offerings, which will further enable our customers to create resilient strategies, build a sustainable future, and meet the expectations of an evolving market," Douglas Peterson, president and CEO of S&P Global, said in a news release.
"The ESG data landscape is changing rapidly and data providers are evolving along with it. S&P Global is best positioned to maintain and build on the leading position of the CSA, which will continue to benefit Robeco, RobecoSAM, and their clients," Karin van Baardwijk, vice chair of the board of directors at RobecoSAM added in the joint release.
Two dozen of SAM CSA employees in Zurich will join S&P Global upon closing, the spokesman confirmed. "It's too early to discuss specific roles," he said.
