Platts, a division of McGraw-Hill, is in the process of acquiring Kingsman, SA, a Switzerland-based provider of price information and analytics for the global sugar and biofuels markets. If all goes as planned, the acquisition will become official on November 1, 2012. Platts focuses on delivering news to the agricultural and energy sectors.

“Kingsman is widely recognized as the leading global brand for sugar market data and analytics,” said Larry Neal, president of Platts. “Our acquisition of Kingsman deepens Platts’ capabilities in biofuels and gives us a springboard for growth in the global agricultural markets.  It also reinforces our commitment to becoming a leader in market analytics as well as news and price information.”

Neal said the deal was a good fit for the company because it will allow the company to develop benchmarks that support market evolution and enhance price transparency. Kingsman has analysts, researchers and report writers in key markets including London Montreal, New Delhi and  Sao Paulo and the company offers a variety of subscription publications covering sugar, ethanol and biodiesel.