Dipo Olowookere
The acquisition of a majority stake in a global leader in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) research, data and assessments firm known as Vigeo Eiris has been announced by Moody’s Corporation.
This furthers strengthens Moody’s objective of promoting global standards for ESG for use by market participants.
With products and capabilities based on ESG assessments and an extensive ESG database, Vigeo Eiris offers specialized research and decision-making tools for sustainable and ethical investments.
Vigeo Eiris will continue to be headquartered in Paris, operating under its existing brand, and it will be an affiliate of Moody’s Investors Service.
The acquisition recognizes that ESG considerations are increasingly relevant to issuers, investors, counterparties and others as capital markets and other stakeholders seek clear and objective standards for understanding and measuring these factors, the company said.
“Vigeo Eiris has been a pioneer in bringing greater transparency and awareness of ESG and sustainability issues to market participants and has continued to innovate and expand as demand for this information has grown,” said Myriam Durand, Global Head of Assessments at Moody’s Investors Service. “Moody’s acquisition of a majority stake in Vigeo Eiris will contribute to the further development of leading ESG risk assessments, enabling the market to benefit from a global standard in assessing ESG considerations as part of their investment decisions.”
“This acquisition reinforces the importance of ESG assessments to market participants. We look forward to working with Moody’s to offer customers access to a broad range of comprehensive sustainability risk assessments, research and data,” said Nicole Notat, President of Vigeo Eiris.
