LONDON, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- PEI Group, the global business intelligence and analytics provider, today announced its acquisition of Scientific Infra & Private Assets (SIPA), the leading global index, benchmark and rating provider for private infrastructure and private equity markets, developed from more than a decade of academic research at the EDHEC Infrastructure & Private Assets Research Institute (EIPA).

SIPA's market indices, benchmarks and rating solutions, infraMetrics, privateMetrics and privateAlpha, will become part of PEI's asset-class platforms, significantly strengthening PEI's ability to offer market references, valuation analytics and advanced research for institutional investors and asset managers.

Expanding PEI's analytics portfolio

The acquisition reinforces PEI's commitment to developing data-driven intelligence and analytics to support the need for transparency and alignment within private markets. SIPA produces the only indices and benchmarks that truly reflect the risk and the performance of private markets as an asset class: with one million private asset prices computed each month, SIPA data achieves both robustness and granularity, allowing superior benchmarking to listed proxies or appraisal data.

Together PEI and SIPA will deliver a comprehensive suite of market analysis, fund, firm, deals data together with indices and market benchmarks which will enable strategy, risk, and investment teams to make the most -informed investment decisions, with greater accuracy and transparency.

Global SIPA reach through the PEI platform

SIPA indices and benchmarks are already used by investors representing more than USD1Tr of AUM in private assets as well as prudential frameworks like the International Capital Standard. Through PEI's global reach, access to SIPA data will expand to the entire private market ecosystem, from institutional investors to consultants and fund managers, private wealth advisors, and retail investors. This integration will allow both PEI and SIPA clients to benefit from a unified granular view of private markets performance and risk reporting, fund and manager selection and private asset valuation.

Continuing scientific excellence through collaboration with EDHEC

SIPA's origins go back to 2016, when EDHEC established EIPA to advance the scientific understanding of private markets. That led to the creation of new standards including The Infrastructure Company Classification Standard (TICCS), and the Private Company Classification Standard (PECCS), and the development of advanced market valuation and credit risk methodologies for private assets. SIPA was successfully spun out in 2019 to commercialise these innovations. PEI will partner directly with EDHEC and EIPA, ensuring continued academic development of the quantitative methodologies underpinning SIPA's technology.

Edouard Tavernier, CEO, PEI Group, commented:
"SIPA's recognised private asset benchmarks are an excellent fit with PEI's strategy of providing vital intelligence for decision-makers in global private markets. By integrating infraMetrics, privateMetrics and privateAlpha within our platforms and augmenting them with our unique insights and differentiated data sets, we will take a major step forward in our commitment to providing rigorous analytics to investors and fund managers."

Frédéric Blanc-Brude, CEO, SIPA, added:
"SIPA was created to bring scientific rigour to private markets, and PEI is the ideal partner to scale that mission. With access to PEI's global intelligence, research network, and client reach, we can accelerate the evolution of our rankings, benchmarks, and analytics — and deliver broader, more actionable insights to our clients. We will also continue working closely with EDHEC to ensure our products remain anchored in world-leading academic research."

Emmanuel Métais, Dean of EDHEC Business School, commented:
"EDHEC ventures like SIPA are created to transform academic research developed at EDHEC into impactful and relevant science-based solutions for the industry. The acquisition of SIPA by PEI is proof that this strategy continues to work and creates value for both EDHEC and market participants. For EDHEC, the success of SIPA is an encouragement to pursue its important investment in private asset research, whether it involves the question of asset valuation, risk measurement or the evaluation of the performance of investors in this asset class."

About PEI Group

Established in 2001, PEI Group is a global provider of vital market intelligence, data, analytics and events for the private markets. Through its portfolio of networks and events, information brands, proprietary datasets and research platforms, PEI supports the decision-making of more than 30,000 institutional investors, asset managers, advisors, and other market participants worldwide.
More at: pei.group

About Scientific Infra & Private Assets (SIPA)

SIPA is an index provider and administrator registered with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and delivers quantitative data and analytics solutions for private markets. SIPA applies academically validated methods to produce private market indices and benchmarks. SIPA's platforms, provide robust and representative asset-level metrics aligned with the PECCS® and TICCS® classifications.
More at: sipametrics.com

About EDHEC Business School and EDHEC Infrastructure & Private Assets Research Institute

EDHEC Business School, founded in 1906 and ranked among Europe's top institutions, is recognised internationally for its impactful research and thought leadership. Its dedicated academic research centre, EDHEC Infrastructure & Private Assets Research Institute, advances the scientific understanding of private markets, producing globally used benchmarks, valuation methods and risk frameworks. EDHEC Business School remains committed to supporting businesses, society and students in addressing today's major challenges. 
More at: EDHEC.edu and edhecinfraprivateassets.com