US-based MSCI has agreed to buy First Street, a climate risk analytics provider, for $120m in cash, with potential additional payments tied to revenue performance.
MSCI will pay the upfront sum at closing, subject to customary adjustments, and could make further cash disbursements within the first two years if First Street hits certain revenue targets.
The deal is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2026, pending regulatory clearance.
Once integrated, First Street’s capabilities – including multi-hazard modelling and property-level analytics – will be folded into MSCI’s existing climate and geospatial tools.
The combined platform is intended to enable physical climate risk assessments at any geographic coordinate and across more than two billion structures globally.
Following completion, First Street’s financials will be consolidated into MSCI’s Sustainability and Climate segment.
MSCI sustainability and climate head Richard Mattison said: ”The integration of First Street data into MSCI’s existing geospatial capabilities will enable clients to be better informed about their changing risk exposures and translate that directly into financial decision-making.”
First Street’s models draw on climate signals validated against real-world events to gauge current and future risk exposure, asset damage, business interruption and associated financial impacts.
These are delivered through visualisations and on-demand analytics covering individual properties, companies and portfolios via an AI-enabled workflow.
MSCI said the merged offering would help banks, insurers, asset managers, asset owners and corporates navigate growing regulatory and reporting obligations, as well as support physical risk management and resilience planning.
The company added that major European central banks already use its data to assess climate risks across their loan portfolios.
First Street founder and CEO Matthew Eby added: ”Joining MSCI puts our property-level science in front of the world’s leading investors, lenders and insurers and turns climate risk from a disclosure exercise into a daily input for how capital is priced and allocated.”
“MSCI to acquire climate risk data company First Street” was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.
