Rating agency Crisil announced the acquisition of Peter Lee, an Australian research and consulting firm, for Australian $6.15 million. While Crisil will acquire 100 per cent of Peter Lee, the acquisition is expected to be completed in three months.

Peter Lee is an Australian research and consulting firm providing benchmarking research programmes to the financial services sector. It conducts annual research programmes across Australia and New Zealand in the various areas of banking, markets, and investment management.

Through this research, the firm delivers annual syndicated research programmes that provide clients with a view on broader market trends and their own competitive positioning based on penetration, share, cross-sell, marketing activity, capability and service. Crisil, which is an arm of S&P Global, said in a regulatory filing that the acquisition will complement its existing portfolio of products and expand offerings to new geographies and segments across financial services, including commercial banks and investment management.

The deal will accelerate its strategy in the APAC region to be the foremost player in the growing market. “Peter Lee is the pre-eminent brand for benchmarking analytics in Australia and New Zealand. The acquisition complements Crisil’s existing portfolio and accelerates its strategy in the APAC region to be the foremost player in the growing market,” Amish Mehta, managing director & CEO of Crisil, said while commenting on the transaction.