I find this humourous. Most certainly this'll make for some interesting bedfellas for a publisher - no bias to be sure. J.D. Power sells to McGraw-Hill
By Dale Jewett
Automotive News / March 07, 2005
Consumer research and consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates has agreed to be bought by McGraw-Hill Cos., the publisher of Business Week magazine.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies expect the deal to close in April, contingent on a review by the federal government under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
Founder James David Power III will continue to be involved with the company, the firm said in a press release. Also, Stephen Goodall will remain as president of J.D. Power and Associates.
McGraw-Hill, based in New York, gathers and sells information in the financial and education segments. Its properties include Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week.
Last October, J.D. Power and Associates hired private capital firm Evercore Partners of New York to determine how to raise money. Until then, the firm had financed its growth from cash flow.
The firm needed more cash to fund plans to expand its services globally. At that time, a spokesman said the options could include selling stock, or even selling the company.
J.D. Power and Associates is best known for its surveys of auto owners that result in its annual Initial Quality Study and Vehicle Dependability Study. It also operates the Power Information Network, which collects detailed sales data from auto dealers and sells it.
The firm also consults and surveys consumers in more than a dozen industry segments, including health care, travel, real estate, telecommunications, insurance and copiers.
J.D. Power and Associates, headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., has about 780 employees and offices in 12 cities around the world.
