The activities of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) in buying up various similar organizations around the world has placed it in the forefront of international ratings and evaluations. The market is growing up and we should welcome this.
Let us hope that they do not go the road of some of the rating agencies and assume that they do not need to follow the very same rules and procedures they require from the companies they review. Their strong worldwide footprint is an important positive step in the maturing of this sector and the growth of this business is a testament to its importance and its relevance. Another good move!
OAM
See article:
Top shareholder advisory group Institutional Shareholder Services on Wednesday said it will buy the research, proxy voting and screening businesses of Investor Responsibility Research Center, a smaller competitor.
ISS, which offers proxy research and voting services and advises on issues of corporate governance, said it will pay $10 million in cash for the Investor Responsibility assets.
With the proceeds of the sale, Washington, D.C.-based Investor Responsibility will refocus on providing independent, objective research on corporate issues by creating the Institute for Corporate Responsibility.
Investor Responsibility said the commercial side of its business has grown dramatically in recent years and detracted from the group's original mission. It said it explored various options with a number of parties before reaching the deal with ISS.
See full Article. Also, see ISS Press Release, in pdf format.
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