NielsenIQ to merge with GfK expanding reach for retail measurement companies

NielsenIQ has agreed to merge with Germany-based global retail and consumer rival GfK in the latest of several private-equity deals in the measurement space.

Advent International, the lead investor in NielsenIQ since its split last year from media measurement company Nielsen, will be the majority shareholder in the combined company. Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions and KKR, which were investors in GfK, will continue as “significant shareholders” in the combined company, according to a statement.
 

Terms of the deal, including what the combined company will be named, were not disclosed. But according to NielsenIQ, its CEO Jim Peck is set to lead the combined company upon closing of the deal following regulatory approvals.

The deal marks continued private-equity interest and deal making in measurement. That stands in contrast to a drought in venture investment and acquisition activity elsewhere in marketing and other technology sectors, according to several market observers.

The biggest private-equity deal in measurement so far this year is the $16 billion deal to take Nielsen private via a private-equity group led by Elliott Investment Management. Nielsen rivals VideoAmp, iSpot.tv and EDO each have seen substantial eight- and nine-figure venture and private-equity investments since December.

Leading the current private-equity wave into measurement, WPP sold 60% of its stake in Kantar, another global measurement player, in 2019 to Bain Capital.

This year also has seen a merger agreement between NielsenIQ rival IRI and NPD led by private equity H&F. In similar fashion, NielsenIQ will move into retail measurement of categories outside of packaged goods with the addition of GfK’s business, focused on measurement in technology and durable goods. The deal also will combine a GfK business focused primarily outside the U.S. with a NielsenIQ business focused primarily inside, though both companies have global footprints, with NielsenIQ operating in 90 countries and GfK in 67.

In a statement, the companies said the deal will let them “innovate and bring new products to market even faster and then scale them to a broader set of markets and industries.”

“Together with GfK, we have the opportunity to influence the future of global retail and consumer measurement—one that is fast, nimble and connected,” Peck said in a statement.