S&P Global goes deeper into supply chain with Orbcomm tie-up

Financial information giant S&P Global has increased its activities in the market for supply chain information in a two-pronged deal with Orbcomm, a widely known provider of electronic logging devices.

In the agreement announced this week, S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) is taking a stake in Orbcomm. The size of the stake and the price paid for it were not disclosed in the prepared announcement of the deal.

A spokeswoman for S&P Global Market Intelligence (SPGMI), the S&P Global division that will manage the relationship with Orbcomm, also declined to comment on the size of the S&P Global stake in Orbcomm.

Orbcomm was a publicly traded company in 2021 when it was acquired by GI Partners. The value of the company at the time was $1.1 billion, and the price paid by GI was about a 50% premium to the share price of Orbcomm, which was traded on the Nasdaq.

The spokeswoman for SPGMI also declined to confirm that the stake had been acquired from GI Partners. S&P Global did not mention GI Partners in its announcement of the transaction.

An email to GI Partners had not been responded to by publication time. 

When GI Partners acquired Orbcomm, there were no reports of other equity holders in the company’s new ownership, and Orbcomm is still listed as a GI portfolio company. 

In a recent affirmation of Orbcomm’s debt rating, Moody’s reported that Orbcomm revenue in 2024 was $310 million. That is an increase from 2020, the last year Orbcomm was publicly traded, when it was $248.5 million.

S&P has a rating on Orbcomm debt

Orbcomm’s debt is rated by S&P Global Ratings, a sister company to SPGMI. Its current rating is B-, which is a notch higher than the Caa1 rating at Moody’s.

The second part of the transaction – and the one that S&P Global highlighted first in its announcement of the deal – is that S&P Global acquired the automatic identification system (AIS) data services business of Orbcomm. The company described Orbcomm’s AIS business as a “leading provider of satellite data services used to track and monitor vessels, enhancing maritime visibility.”

With the stake in Orbcomm, S&P Global is essentially now in the ELD business. But ELDs are  just one part of Orbcomm’s offerings in the trucking sector. They also include various visibility tools for tasks such as trailer tracking, and the company provides Internet of Things solutions for other sectors, including maritime.

‘Strategic alliance’ planned

S&P said it would also work with Orbcomm to “create a strategic alliance to develop a range of differentiated supply chain data and insight offerings, underscoring its commitment to further investing in this sector while helping customers navigate the complex maritime environment.”

“The strategic alliance builds on the complementary strengths of S&P Global and Orbcomm in global trade and logistics ecosystems,” it added in the statement. “S&P Global’s equity investment in Orbcomm further emphasizes its commitment to this strategic alliance.”

Other offerings of S&P Global for supply chain customers include its Supply Chain Console, which can draw on data provided by other parts of S&P Global, such as its commodity prices and global trade forecasts. The Console also has, according to the company website, “bespoke insights and research from our team of over 200 supply chain experts.”

S&P also offers trade data through Panjiva, which in 2018 was one of the first acquisitions the company made in the supply chain sector, and PIERS, a database of maritime bills of lading. It publishes Journal of Commerce as well.

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