Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc., a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, today announced the completion of the acquisition of Bisnode Business Information Group AB, a leading European data and analytics firm.

Rajat Somany appointed Leader, International Product Strategy & Development at Dun & Bradstreet.

The acquisition was completed by the subsidiary Dun & Bradstreet Holdings BV for an enterprise value of 7.2B SEK. The transaction was closed with a combination of approximately $625 million net cash, and 6,237,089 newly issued shares of common stock of the company in a private placement. Bisnode Belgium NV, a Belgian subsidiary of Bisnode, will remain under Ratos AB ownership.

“I want to welcome our Bisnode colleagues to the Dun & Bradstreet team. This acquisition represents a wonderful opportunity to strengthen our global portfolio and to bring together unique assets which enable us to better serve our current clients and future prospects,” said Anthony Jabbour, Chief Executive Officer at Dun & Bradstreet. “The Bisnode territories include some of the most strategic countries in Europe and the combination of our data, analytics and solutions will allow us to bolster our international growth strategy. With these combined assets, we are well positioned to address the needs of clients seeking to grow their business, increase efficiencies and reduce their risk exposure.”

The acquisition of these leading and trusted brands will help businesses during the unprecedented times which have made data and analytics insights and shifts to digital business even more critical. Both companies, collectively, has around 250,000 clients and delivers solutions to help clients monitor counterparty risk in order to minimize exposure, while at the same time extending credit and targeting prospect universes of trusted and solvent buyers.

“In Bisnode we found a team who shares our mission to help companies compete, grow, and thrive. We at Dun & Bradstreet have been supportive of them as prior members of our Worldwide Network, and we are ready to take the next step in our journey together,” said Neeraj Sahai, President of Dun & Bradstreet International. “We look forward to expanding into new, attractive mission-critical business areas and quickly expanding our Dun & Bradstreet solution offerings in the region consistent with our growth strategy. With the guidance of our newly formed International Strategic Advisory Board, we will hit the ground running to deliver for clients both current and prospective.”

With the transaction complete, Dun & Bradstreet has also established an International Strategic Advisory Board, formed to support the Dun & Bradstreet International leadership team by providing strategic advice. Neeraj Sahai will lead the International Advisory Board with the inclusion of Jonas Wistrom, Chief Executive Officer for Ratos AB. Additional board appointments will be announced by the company later in the quarter. The company will also be providing 2021 guidance and the synergy plan for Bisnode at its quarterly earnings call.

The talks of acquiring Bisnode started in October 2020. The two complementary organizations united after a successful 17-year alliance built on the strong foundations of the relationship to deliver numerous strategic benefits. October also marks the company’s launch of D&B Connect, an AI-Powered Self-Service Platform for Simplified Data Management. D&B Connect provides an easy-to-use portal for managing sales and marketing data, allowing users to quickly access, clean, enrich, and monitor their data for a complete view of the customer.

And in the first week of December, the data analytics company announced the availability of D&B Buyer Intent in the UK, which enables B2B marketing and sales teams to unmask early-stage buying signals from companies in the market to buy. While Jan 2021 marks the appointment of Rajat Somany as Leader, International Product Strategy & Development at Dun & Bradstreet.

Rajat joins Dun & Bradstreet from Wolters Kluwer where he was Global Product and Platform Head for the Financial Risk and Regulatory Reporting business. He has held senior product leadership roles at Citigroup, Barclays Bank and UBS, working across Europe, Asia and the US.  Commenting on the appointment, Neeraj Sahai, President of Dun & Bradstreet’s International business said, “Rajat brings a wealth of international product strategy experience and will focus on expanding our global solutions into new markets and driving innovation to meet local market needs.”

Source: Martechseries.com