The NPD Group (NPD), a global market information provider, announced that Hellman & Friedman (H&F), a premier global private equity firm, has made a binding offer and entered into an exclusive agreement to acquire NPD subject to conditions below. NPD Executive Chairman Tod Johnson and CEO Karyn Schoenbart would retain a minority stake in the business and continue to serve on the NPD board of directors.
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“As a leading source of market information and advisory services for general merchandise and foodservice, NPD is committed to helping our clients and the industries we serve achieve data-driven growth for many years to come,” said Johnson. “H&F shares our focus on long-term growth and has the resources and expertise to not only continue but also accelerate NPD’s momentum and long track record of success. Both Karyn and I are delighted to have the opportunity to partner as minority investors alongside H&F as we work in close collaboration on a long-term strategic plan and transition over time to the next generation of NPD leadership.”
“In a period of rapid change, NPD has helped guide our clients with omnichannel data, industry expertise, and analytics to help them understand unprecedented market shifts,” said NPD CEO Karyn Schoenbart. “It has been exciting to play an increasingly important role in the strategies of our clients by providing insight into what is happening today and what to anticipate in the future. We expect H&F to continue our tradition of client partnership and innovation with new products, data sources, and next generation platforms to make our information even more comprehensive, accessible, and actionable.”
“Trusted by more than 2,000 customers in 19 countries, NPD is a market leader in its categories with an outstanding value proposition for customers and retailers. Tod and Karyn have led the company to great heights, and we look forward to working closely with them to build on this strong momentum,” said Philip Hammarskjold, Executive Chairman of H&F.
“Rapidly evolving consumer expectations and the growth of e-commerce are accelerating the pace of change in the retail landscape. In an environment of unknowns, the ability for companies to use omnichannel analytics to measure and improve performance is more important than ever before, and NPD is extremely well positioned to provide these critical insights to its customers and retail partners,” said Blake Kleinman, Partner at H&F.
Founded in 1966, NPD is currently the eighth largest market research company worldwide, with operations in the Americas, Europe, and APAC, covering more than 20 industries. Over the years, NPD has introduced numerous industry innovations in both traditional and digital research methodologies. These include launching the first point-of-sale tracking services for general merchandise sectors, developing the in-home scanning technology used by many research companies around the world today, pioneering online surveys, introducing the breakthrough digital measurement methodology that powered Media Metrix, and building the first receipt-based market measurement system.
Following completion of the notification and consultation process with NPD’s employee-works council, as required by law, H&F and NPD’s shareholders are expected to enter into a definitive sale agreement. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2021, subject to the entry into the definitive sale agreement and satisfaction of the conditions set forth therein. Jefferies LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP is acting as legal advisor to NPD. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal advisor to H&F.
NPD offers data, industry expertise, and prescriptive analytics to help our clients grow their businesses in a changing world. Over 2,000 companies worldwide rely on us to help them measure, predict, and improve performance across all channels, including brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, and B2B. We have services in 19 countries worldwide, with operations spanning the Americas, Europe, and APAC. Practice areas include apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, books, B2B technology, consumer technology, e-commerce, fashion accessories, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, juvenile products, media entertainment, mobile, office supplies, retail, sports, toys, and video games.
Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on large-scale equity investments in high quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors including software & technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer & retail, and other business services.
Since its founding in 1984, H&F has invested in over 100 companies. The firm is currently investing its tenth fund, with $24.4 billion of committed capital, and has over $90 billion in assets under management.