Date: Jan 15, 2014 Source: Bloomberg (
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Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Verisk Analytics Inc., the supplier of data to insurers and banks, agreed to buy EagleView Technology Corp. for $650 million in cash, adding an image library that encompasses about 90 percent of U.S. structures.
The deal will allow Verisk to bolster its underwriting software and expand offerings to insurance and government customers, according to a statement. Jersey City, New Jersey-based Verisk said the transaction may be completed by July 15.
Verisk, founded by insurers, has been making acquisitions to add actuarial data since an initial public offering in 2009. In 2012, it bought credit-card data firm Argus Information & Advisory Services LLC for $425 million and medical-record aggregator MediConnect Global Inc. for $349 million.
The purchase of EagleView "advances our position in the imagery analytics market, adding new municipal and commercial customers," Verisk Chief Executive Officer Scott Stephenson said in the statement.
Verisk fell less than 1 percent to $63.43 at 4:30 p.m. today in New York. It has risen 15 percent in the past year, compared with the 26 percent advance of the Russell 1000 Index.
EagleView's image library covers more than 1 million square miles, according to the statement. The parent company of Pictometry International Corp. and Eagle View Technologies Inc. has offices in Rochester, New York, and Bothell, Washington.
The purchase will be funded with about $50 million in cash and $585 million from a revolving credit facility, Verisk Chief Financial Officer Mark Anquillare said on a conference call.
Tax Benefits
Verisk said it expects to receive about $25 million in tax benefits as part of the transaction. The cash payment will be reduced by about $13 million, reflecting the company's minority equity ownership of EagleView.
Standard & Poor's affirmed Verisk's credit rating today at BBB-, one level above junk, and said outlook is stable.
"This acquisition enhances Verisk's insurance solutions platform and provides the company with cross-selling opportunities," S&P said in a statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alexandria Baca in New York at abaca3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net
