Mergent's pricing service will be integrated into Moody's Evaluations Inc. The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to close within 30 days. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Moody's Evaluations Inc. will focus on developing and providing pricing services, beginning with evaluated pricing information for the corporate and municipal bond market and expanding to other asset classes. The new unit will meet market demand for independent and transparent price and valuation information for both liquid and illiquid securities. As part of the transaction, Moody's will partner with Mergent to market Mergent's comprehensive fixed income terms and conditions data, which further expands the breadth of fixed income content that Moody's makes available to the market.

Moody's Evaluations Inc. complements Moody's Corporation's broader pricing and securities valuation initiatives. In addition to Mergent's corporate and municipal bond pricing services, Moody's new model-based valuations for structured securities - Credit Values DCV - will position the firm to offer a complete range of fixed income valuation services.

"The current environment has raised market sensitivity to pricing and valuation of debt securities and has amplified the need for better information and precision in determining valuations, particularly with complex structured securities," said Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Moody's Corporation. "Moody's Evaluations Inc. is well positioned to meet this need by providing the market with greater transparency, improved information and enhanced, independent analytics in the evaluations process."