Clarivate going public through merger deal — MarkMonitor parent

SPAC gobbles up Clarivate Analytics, the firm that owns MarkMonitor.

Brand protection domain name registrar MarkMonitor will soon be part of a public firm.

MarkMonitor parent firm Clarivate Analytics is merging with Special Purpose Buyout Firm (SPAC) Churchill Capital Corp. Churchill raised $690 million in an IPO last September, the most raised in a SPAC IPO last year. A SPAC is created with the specific purpose of acquiring another firm.

Private equity and asset management firms Onex and BPEA carved out Clarivate from Thomson Reuters in 2016. They will roll 100% of their existing equity in the firm into the deal.

Clarivate had $968.5 million in revenue in 2018, up from $917.6 million in 2017. 82% of 2018 revenue was subscription-based.

The deal gives Clarivate an initial enterprise value of approximately $4.2 billion. That values it at regarding 12x adjusted revenue.

Once the deal is final, Clarivate plans to be listed on the Fresh York Stock Exchange under the symbol CCC.