The Corporate Library and GovernanceMetrics International merge as sector consolidation continues

The rapid consolidation of ESG research and corporate governance companies is continuing with the announcement that US firms, The Corporate Library and GovernanceMetrics International (GMI) are merging. The deal brings together two of the remaining, sizeable independent research firms in the sector. They create a combined company with global research coverage of more than 5,400 companies. The research firms said they would remain as independent businesses in terms of branding and operations with no immediate plans to integrate systems or products. However, they said that in the coming months, they will examine opportunities for integrated services and products “based on market demand”.
Richard Bennett, chief executive officer and president of Portland, Maine-based The Corporate Library, will take the same role at the newly combined group. Bennett was a former director of corporate governance for Lens Investment Management and a former president of the Maine State Senate. Howard Sherman, chief executiveofficer of GMI, becomes executive director and head of global business at the combined company. Sherman was a former president and CEO of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).
Gavin Anderson, chairman of GMI, and former chairman of Gavin Anderson & Company, the communications group, will join the board of the merged groups along with Sherman.
Joining the combined board from The Corporate Library side are governance pioneers, Nell Minow, editor and co-founder, and Bob Monks, co-founder of the company back in 1999. The Corporate Library sells US corporate governance research, advisory and risk analysis solutions. GMI, which was launched in 2002, sells investment-focused corporate governance research and global corporate ratings.
The combined company’s clients include institutional investors, money managers, insurance underwriters, investment banks, accountancies, search firms, law firms, academic institutions, credit rating agencies, corporations and consultancies.