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Mergent, a spinoff from the Moody's ratings service, was acquired by Xinhua Finance in June 2004 and all financial considerations with regard to the acquisition were completed in January 2005.
Both companies have since been building products based on the synergies between Mergent's credit rating products and the China information and access available to Xinhua Finance's credit ratings division.
Xinhua Finance CEO Fredy Bush said the Mergent acquisition has proved to be advantageous to both companies, providing enhanced sales opportunities and higher revenues for both.
"The combination of the Xinhua Finance credit ratings products with Mergent's strengths allows us to provide our ratings clients with a much more in-depth list of services, including the first such products for the China market," Ms Bush said.
"Xinhua Finance has the best China credit ratings service in the market, and Mergent provides all the services that are required to complement a ratings service. We are now creating the products needed to support our China ratings."
The first product is a Mergent database of China listed companies, with full data on top China firms traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The product will make use of Mergent's sophisticated technology which allows for searches and comparisons between companies in different markets using a wide range of search criteria.
"What this means is that Chinese listed companies will be fully integrated in a global corporate database for this first time," said Ms Bush. "This is in effect the beginning of true integration of Chinese companies into the global company landscape."
Ms Bush said the acquisition of Mergent has enhanced Xinhua Finance's position in the Chinese credit ratings market.
"We were the first to apply international standards in the China credit ratings market, and these new products make our market position even stronger," she said.
Mergent's CEO Jonathan Worrall said that joining the Xinhua Finance group has provided Mergent with unique access to China's financial markets.
"It is essential that Mergent can offer our clients China elements in our products and services. Our initial view that Xinhua Finance would provide us with the opportunity to do that has proved to be correct," Mr. Worrall added. "In fact the synergies and opportunities created by the merger have far exceeded our expectations."
Mergent, Inc., successor to the original Moody's Investors Service division, is headquartered in New York, NY, and Charlotte, NC, and operates sales offices in key North American cities as well as London, Tokyo and Sydney.
