CHICAGO & GENEVA & NUREMBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NielsenIQ (NIQ) and GfK SE (GfK) today announced the successful completion of their strategic combination, culminating in forming the world's leading consumer intelligence company. This transaction combines two industry leaders, consolidating their strengths and complementary capabilities to provide clients with an unmatched suite of comprehensive and innovative solutions. 

Accessing the most complete and clear understanding of consumer buying behavior, delivered through best-in-class technology platforms, will enable the world’s top retailers and brands to uncover new pathways to sustainable growth.

The strategic combination of NIQ and GfK brings together two companies that have independently made significant investments in omnichannel coverage, business intelligence tools, and predictive analytics. With unmatched global reach and industry expertise, the company is positioned to accelerate its growth by offering The Full View™ of consumer behavior around the globe.

The combined company unites complementary areas of expertise, fusing NIQ’s leading insights in fast-moving consumer goods and GfK’s deep understanding of consumer technology and durable goods. Together, thousands of existing and potential customers will have newfound access to actionable insights across the total store.

“We are incredibly excited as we combine the strengths of these two great companies to create the future of consumer intelligence,” said Jim Peck, CEO. “Together, we are powered by more—more global reach, more omnichannel coverage, more granular data, more consumer-sourced insights, and more predictive analytics, which add up to more actionable insights and growth for our customers. Most importantly, we are bringing together innovative industry experts and complementary cultures driven by integrity and the relentless pursuit of delivering the highest quality at all times.”

“GfK and NIQ share an unyielding dedication to our clients. Existing and future clients can trust that our nearly 200 years of combined experience in the industry, underpinned by state-of-the art technology and a commitment to new coverage, will provide an unrivaled view that empowers them to make critical decisions with confidence and drive their business forward,” said Lars Nordmark, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of GfK.

The NIQ-GfK combination is the largest part of the company’s strategic efforts to deliver the Full View™. It follows a series of significant performance-enhancing investments that drive sustainable growth not only for the industries we serve, but for the combined NIQ-GfK company. The new entity is positioned to move measurement forward through a global cloud-native platform. Drawing from even more comprehensive data assets, intuitive business intelligence tools deliver granular market reads and predictive analytics powered by generative AI and authoritative data science. These technology advancements enable speed-to-insight across trends from an expanded set of industries, channels, and products.

The signing of the agreement to divest GfK’s European Consumer Panel business to YouGov marked another important milestone towards the planned combination of GfK and NIQ. The complementarity of GfK’s offering to NIQ’s portfolio - which adds comprehensive market intelligence and analytics on technology and durable consumer goods, together with cross-industry brand, marketing and consumer insights - is what makes this transaction so attractive for both companies, our clients and employees. The divestment of GfK CP, a business which generated about 15% of GfK’s annual revenue, does not materially change the overall attractiveness of our combination.

The executive leadership team for the company has been carefully selected from both NIQ and GfK. NIQ CEO, Jim Peck, will lead the combined company, supported by the industry's most experienced, capable leadership team.

The combined company will maintain key operational footholds in Chicago, USA, Nuremberg, Germany, and Geneva, Switzerland.