Dear colleagues, customers, partners and shareholders,

Today marks a momentous and exciting occasion. It is a day to celebrate two great companies coming together. It is a day to express thanks to hundreds of our people who have spent many long days and weekends away from their families to do the work of integrating our two businesses. And it is a day to look to tomorrow—to a future filled with huge opportunities for all of us because S&P Global and IHS Markit are stronger together than we were apart.

Today’s milestone comes 455 days since our two companies announced a merger agreement. During that time, we’ve laid the foundation to build a new company uniquely positioned to power the markets of tomorrow. We’ve solidified our business strategy. We’ve addressed the needs of our customers. And most importantly, we’ve brought together two distinct yet complementary cultures.

We play a key role in advancing human progress by providing the insights that enable decision making and create economic opportunities. This unifying purpose comes with tremendous responsibility. It requires our people, every day, to do the right thing. It requires us to continue our pioneering ways of finding new solutions to problems. And it requires us to serve the markets and our customers with trusted information—to be true partners.

To our 35,000+ people around the globe, I hope you feel the same sense of pride and optimism I do. For generations, the greatest strength of our businesses has been the quality of our people. I have always admired your expertise, passion, character and spirit of innovation. Whether you’re a data analyst, a developer or a designer, your work is more essential than ever. You have enormous potential to make important contributions, develop your talents and advance your careers. But it will require a lot of hard work, collaboration and a personal commitment to our values of integrity, discovery and partnership.

To our customers, we believe in the new S&P Global. We’ve said before we’re optimistic about the possibilities to unleash new combinations of data, products and technology to serve you with unique data and insights that provide decision support and important workflow tools. Now that the merger is complete, we are moving at full speed to create a differentiated capability to support you in all you do. That includes delivering platforms, analytics and benchmarks around ESG factors, climate and energy transition, private assets and SMEs, counterparty risk management, supply chain, trade and alternative data sets.

To our community and business partners, I want to reaffirm our commitment to strong cooperation. I’m confident that our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion; to volunteerism and charitable giving; and to all facets of serving as a trusted partner will evolve in new and exciting ways.

To our shareholders, you should expect us to move quickly to our new capital return target of at least 85% of free cash flow. As we look ahead, we remain excited by our prospects. We are well positioned for long-term growth with powerful brands, talented people, unique capabilities and powerful sectoral trends across the global capital and commodity markets we serve. We thank you for your investment.

I also want to thank all our people around the globe. They are dedicated. They are diligent. And they are committed to making this fantastic organization even better. It’s a privilege to work at their side.

Now let’s get started on making a brighter tomorrow, today.

Regards,


Douglas L. Peterson,
President and CEO, S&P Global