S&P Global announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire OpenZeppelin, the security standard for onchain finance. The transaction complements S&P Global’s risk assessment and ecosystem development capabilities in digital asset markets, enhancing its ability to create the next generation of onchain security assessments, benchmarks, and deliver essential intelligence as capital markets transition onchain.

Founded in 2015, OpenZeppelin combines leading onchain security assessments and secure development services with one of the world’s leading open-source smart contract libraries. OpenZeppelin Contracts underpin over $37 trillion in value transferred, including the vast majority of the largest stablecoins and tokenized funds, and the company has conducted 900+ security engagements for the protocols and institutions defining digital asset markets. OpenZeppelin’s technology and expertise are trusted by decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional financial institutions to secure the onchain infrastructure that increasingly underpins digital assets.

“Our digital assets strategy centers on bringing trusted data, benchmarks and transparent risk assessment to markets as they move onchain,” said Yann Le Pallec, President, S&P Global Ratings. “As digital assets and tokenized markets continue to mature, OpenZeppelin’s technology and expertise will complement our smart contract and onchain technology risk assessment capabilities, giving traditional financial institutions and DeFi-native companies alike the confidence to build and transact in this new environment.”

The acquisition will expand S&P Global’s risk assessment capabilities into the onchain technology-risk layer and as an extension to onchain financial products, while S&P Global’s trusted brand, deep institutional relationships, and global distribution accelerate OpenZeppelin’s reach into traditional finance.

“OpenZeppelin’s standards, technology, and expertise already power the infrastructure behind the world’s leading stablecoins, tokenized funds, DeFi protocols, and onchain markets,” said Demian Brener, CEO, OpenZeppelin. “With S&P Global, that foundation reaches a broader set of organizations entering this market, as well as the blockchain networks and DeFi protocols gaining institutional adoption.”

OpenZeppelin will continue to operate as its own business unit under the OpenZeppelin name. Brener will continue to lead the business, reporting to Yann Le Pallec, President, S&P Global Ratings.

The transaction is subject to closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the financial results of S&P Global.

Jefferies LLC is serving as financial advisor to S&P Global; Clifford Chance is acting as S&P Global’s legal advisor. FT Partners is serving as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to OpenZeppelin; Cooley is acting as OpenZeppelin’s legal advisor.

Source: S&P Global