LONDON, March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Platts, a leading global energy, metals, petrochemicals and agriculture information provider, announced today that it has acquired Munich-based Minerals Value Service GmbH (MVS), a privately held company specialising in determining value-in-use for miners, mills and traders in the iron ore and steelmaking industries. The purchase extends a partnership launched in October 2013 under which Platts took an equity stake in MVS and became the exclusive distributor of MVS' web-based value-in-use tool, which enables users to calculate a value of iron ore for specific buying and selling scenarios.

"Over the course of our partnership with MVS, the value of this unique analytical tool has become increasingly apparent," said Andrew Goodwin, Platts general manager, metals. "Acquiring MVS will allow us to put the full weight of Platts' marketing, sales and product development teams behind MVS to help accelerate its growth, bringing value to new and existing customers."

"We are excited to join the Platts team," said James Rilett, London-based managing director of MVS. "A full acquisition by Platts will provide the expertise and scale to help MVS accelerate and broaden its product development, both in iron and steel and across other commodity classes. These markets are evolving fast and increasing in complexity all the time. This deal allows us to continue to develop our data, research and product offerings to help our customers meet these challenges."

"Platts was the natural fit for MVS given its leading position in iron ore pricing, which is the essential starting point for all of our analytical work," said Oliver Gausmann, a founding shareholder and managing director of the development arm of MVS based in Munich.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Since October 2013, Platts and its specialist pricing unit, The Steel Index (TSI), have provided a comprehensive set of steel-related price assessments - including the Platts IODEX and TSI 62% Fe iron ore prices, which form an integral part of the custom calculations performed by the MVS tool. The tool allows a subscriber to tap into multiple databases containing detailed information on local and international steelmaking input calculations, as well as freight, taxes, duties and other logistics costs that are updated daily. The end result is a value-in-use adjustment for a given iron ore, calculated on an individual steelmaker's precise technical and commercial parameters.

The tool also offers customizable, downloadable reports and presentations to increase the analytical capacity and reach of users involved in financing, marketing and sourcing iron ore. To see an online product demo, click here; to hear more about MVS and how the acquisition can benefit clients, watch this video.

MVS was founded in 2011 and is led by Managing Directors James Rilett and Oliver Gausmann. It employs a team of experienced engineers, metallurgists and commercial experts in Munich and maintains a network of researchers in China, India, South Africa and Australia who provide the transactional, logistical and fundamental data underpinning the MVS application. Customers include trading firms, miners, steel producers, financial institutions and logistics companies. For more information on MVS, visit: https://www.mvs-corp.com/en/.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is based in London with more than 1000 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial is a leading financial intelligence company providing the global capital and commodity markets with independent benchmarks, credit ratings, portfolio and enterprise risk solutions, and analytics. The Company's iconic brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, and J.D. Power. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 30 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

SOURCE Platts

SOURCE: Platts