Data and analytics giant S&P Global Inc. (SPGI Quick QuoteSPGI - Free Report) and London-based critical information, analytics, and solutions provider IHS Markit have announced a merger agreement today.

In an all-stock deal that values IHS Markit at $44 billion, each IHS Markit share will be exchanged for a fixed ratio of 0.2838 shares of S&P Global.

The deal will merge two of the largest data providers to Wall Street and will be the biggest of the year, surpassing Nvidia's (NVDA Quick QuoteNVDA - Free Report) around $40 billion acquisition of Arm Holdings and the $40 billion transaction between Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTTYY Quick QuoteNTTYY - Free Report) and a subsidiary.

The buyout could significantly enhance S&P Global’s data and analytics offerings. It is anticipated to be accretive to the company’s earnings by the end of the second year post-closing.

Since acquisition will add to the increased level of consolidation among financial data providers, it may attract strict regulatory scrutiny. This is because increased consolidation has raised concerns about rising market power among a dwindling group of data providers.

Notably, both S&P Global and IHS Markit have had an impressive rally on the bourses over the past year, appreciating a respective 30.3% and 28.4% compared with 4.9% rally of the industry and 17.3% growth of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

S&P Global and IHS Markit currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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