Information and analytics provider IHS and financial data firm Markit said on Monday they will merge in a $13bn deal.

The tie-up, unanimously approved by both boards, will create a data heavyweight based in London with over 50,000 customers.

Shareholders of IHS, which has a market value of about $7.5bn as of Friday’s close, will own about 57% of the combined company.

Markit shareholders will own about 43% of the new firm which will be renamed IHS Markit.

Jerre Stead, IHS chairman and chief executive described it as a "transformational merger"  bringing together two "information-rich companies." 

Lance Uggla, chairman and chief executive officer of Markit, added that the combination will create a "global information powerhouse" and a platform for innovation that drives future revenue.

Cost savings of $125m a year are expected by 2019 as a result of integrating functions and reducing technology spend by optimising IT infrastructure.

Markit, which competes with Reuters and Bloomberg but unlike them it produces data, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company is most well known for its monthly Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI) which is a barometer of manufacturing growth ahead of official data.