Global Insight bought in deal worth $200m

Waltham research firm now under IHS umbrella with Cambridge Energy

Economic forecasting firm Global Insight Inc. of Waltham yesterday said it agreed to be purchased for $200 million by IHS Inc., an Englewood, Colo., information giant, continuing a wave of consolidation that has swept through the research industry.

The deal would bring Global Insight, which has 175 employees in Lexington and Waltham, under the umbrella of the parent company of another high-profile Massachusetts research firm: Cambridge Energy Research Inc., which has about 250 employees in the state.

"This is an opportunity to create a great Massachusetts platform," said Scott Key, an IHS executive who will move to the Boston area to take over as Global Insight's president and chief operating officer. "With Cambridge Energy Research and Global Insight, you have a research capability unparalleled anywhere in the world."

IHS, a publicly traded company with a market value of $3.8 billion, focuses on industries ranging from energy and the environment to aerospace, transportation, and supply chains.

The company, which employs about 4,000 people around the world, owns several other research brands, including London-based defense specialist Jane's Information Group and IHS Herold of Norwalk, Conn., another energy research firm. IHS shares slipped 49 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $60.50 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

Key said Global Insight will retain its name and expand its Boston area workforce in coming years but work more closely with Cambridge Energy Research and other IHS "insight" companies, which provide data, analysis, and consulting services to businesses and government agencies around the globe. He said he expects the deal will take effect within 30 days, pending regulatory approval.

Yesterday's agreement comes six weeks after Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge said it was buying technology rival Jupiter Research LLC of New York in a $23 million deal meant to strengthen Forrester against larger competitors such as Gartner Inc. of Stamford and International Data Corp. of Framingham.

Global Insight was formed in May 2001 when Joseph E. Kasputys, now its chief executive, acquired Data Resources Inc. of Lexington and its rival Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates of Philadelphia. Kasputys said he plans to remain with Global Insight as chairman emeritus under IHS and will help Key manage increasing collaboration among the firm's far-flung operations.

Down the road, Kasputys said, he can imagine Global Insight and Cambridge Energy analysts working side by side on research and forecasts. "This is a terrific combination of Global Insight's economic analysis and Cambridge Research's energy analysis," he said.

Robert Weisman can be reached at weisman@globe.com.