IHS To Acquire Rival NPD Solarbuzz

November 4th, 2014 by Joshua S Hill

In what qualifies as probably the most “inside baseball” story I’ve ever covered for CleanTechnica in all my years, market research firm IHS has struck a deal to acquire rival NPD Solarbuzz.

IHS put out a press release on Tuesday last week announcing the acquisition of two NPD groups — DisplaySearch and Solarbuzz — for an as-yet-unnamed sum.

“Solarbuzz will help IHS customers tap into the photovoltaic industry’s premier source for detailed strategic and tactical planning information,” said president and chief executive officer of IHS, Scott Key.

Together, these two businesses – which will be integrated into the IHS Technology business line – will position IHS as a premier global provider of displays research and as a top provider of solar market information

PV-Tech reported that “IHS has been on an acquisition trail in the PV sector for several years,” having acquired Wicht Consulting as a result of the acquisition of iSuppli, as well as IMS Research and Emerging Energy Research.

For those of us who rely on the valuable research of NPD Solarbuzz, not much is likely to change.

“DisplaySearch will help give IHS customers a powerful view of the end-to-end display supply chain, from chemicals to semiconductors to displays, and then on through TVs, phones and mobile devices, to operator platforms and content,” Key said.

“This acquisition will provide IHS with solid new experience in the displays category and will bolster our capabilities for displays research and analytics in the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.” DisplaySearch will complement other IHS acquisitions of technology industry-related companies in recent years.

“Sale of the businesses is a strategic decision for NPD, allowing us to focus on global expansion of our retail, distributor and consumer tracking services and on introducing new solutions,” added Tod Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of The NPD Group. “We are committed to continued innovation in our core businesses, and as analyst services focused on the supply chain, DisplaySearch and Solarbuzz are less synergistic with our portfolio and less compatible with our long-range vision.”

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Tags: acquisition, DisplaySearch, Emerging Energy Research, IHS, IHS technology, ims research, iSuppli, NPD Solarbuzz, Wicht Consulting

About the Author

Joshua S Hill I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.