IHS Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Seismic Micro-Technology (SMT), a market leader for geoscience software. The $500 million cash transaction - the largest acquisition in IHS history - is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

'The acquisition of SMT will increase the ability of IHS to offer mission-critical geoscience software and data products to customers in our largest end-market, Energy, and give SMT customers the ability to seamlessly access the critical oil and gas information and insight products of IHS,' said Jerre Stead, IHS chairman and chief executive officer. 'SMT offers software and solutions to help customers across the globe find and develop new oil and gas reserves, and optimize production from new and existing assets. Together, we can provide a more robust, valuable and integrated solution set of information, software and insight to support our energy customers worldwide and give them even more options to support their business needs.'

Since 1984, SMT has provided the upstream exploration and production industry with easy to use, highly integrated, cost-effective software solutions. Headquartered in Houston, the company developed the first geoscience interpretation tools for the Microsoft Windows environment to help accelerate hydrocarbon exploration, collaboration and decision-making while delivering exceptional accuracy and consistency. Today, SMT is a global leader in Windows-based exploration and production software, and its solutions are used by geoscientists in more than 100 countries to evaluate potential reservoirs and plan field development.

'This acquisition will extend the global reach of SMT's seismic interpretation platform, KINGDOM, while enhancing the existing IHS portfolio of applications and services to better serve the global energy industry and add even more value for customers,' said Arshad Matin, SMT president and CEO.

With 171 employees and more than 3,000 customers globally, SMT has earned a loyal following for its software platforms that boast great ease of use and mobility. IHS has a long-standing focus on and investment in information browsing and analysis tools for the oil and gas industry in order to give customers efficient and accurate use of its industry-leading information products.

Stead added: 'Together, IHS and SMT will continue to provide leading software applications with increased integration and data links, moving forward onto a fully integrated platform to meet the oil and gas asset industry's needs for collaborative decision-making.'

Tags: IHS Inc.