Daily Mail owner sells data business

Founded in 1999, Genscape provides data and intelligence for commodity and energy markets. DMGT acquired the firm in 2006.

Genscape will become part of Verisk’s Wood Mackenzie business, which focuses on research and consultancy in the natural resources sectors.

Neal Anderson, president, Wood Mackenzie, said: “With Genscape joining Wood Mackenzie, our customers will now better understand the defining issues facing key energy commodities. With the immediacy and global reach of Genscape’s IoT sensors, customers have access to proprietary data analytics.”

Anderson added: “There is limited overlap between Wood Mackenzie’s customer base and the 1,300 customers that Genscape serves. This creates a significant opportunity to use our existing solutions for cross-sell to customers of the two businesses and particularly to integrate our proprietary data sets for new analytical insights.”

The sale means DMGT now operates in five sectors, down from 10 in 2016.

Paul Zwillenberg, chief executive of DMGT, said: "Significant progress has been made improving operational execution at Genscape, consistent with our strategic priorities and, on completion, DMGT is expected to have more than £200m net cash on its balance sheet, enhancing the Group’s financial flexibility.”

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions.