Moody’s Corp. , best known for rating corporate and government debt, is diving into disaster and climate-change risk modeling.
The ratings company on Thursday said it had agreed to acquire RMS, a catastrophe risk-management and modeling firm, from its U.K. parent Daily Mail and General Trust PLC for about $2 billion.
The deal is a sign of the big money to be made from selling data that analyzes changing climate patterns caused by global warming. RMS sells data and analytics to the property and casualty insurance and reinsurance sectors. It has grown rapidly alongside the increased frequency of natural disasters that are changing the way insurers price coverage.
Moody’s said the acquisition would help build its business of providing data and risk assessments to the insurance industry.
On a call with analysts, Moody’s Chief Executive Rob Fauber said “climate change is an issue that demands urgent attention.” He added that the acquisition will help customers manage exposure to climate-change risks in their investment and lending portfolios and meet regulatory requirements related to climate change.