IMS Research, the UK-based automation and electronics market analysis company, has been acquired by the US information and analysis giant, IHS, for around $46m. IMS, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, employs more than 140 people in the UK, US, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

“The acquisition of IMS Research will help us expand our products and services in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) value chain, and better position IHS to deliver a more robust product offering to our customers in the global technology marketplace,” says IHS chairman and CEO, Jerre Stead. “The annual delivery nature of the IMS Research business is also an excellent fit for our subscription-based model.”

IMS Research provides market studies, custom research and consultancy services to OEMs, component manufacturers and systems suppliers in the global automation and electronics industries.

“We are very excited to be joining an organisation that shares our passion for delivering an exceptional customer experience,” says IMS Research founder and CEO, Matthew Towers. “The IMS Research suite of products and services are an excellent fit with the existing IHS portfolio of technology information and analytics, and our research model provides a platform for IHS to extend into the consumer sentiment space for even greater breadth and depth of content.”

In a letter to IMS customers, Towers assures them that “delivery of your current IMS Research products and services will continue uninterrupted. In fact, with the expanded range of IHS resources – including market, technology, and supply chain expert insights, raw material forecasts, supplier and component databases, and decision support tools – it is our desire to deliver to you even greater value through expanded coverage and deeper analysis in the future.”

IHS is planning to combine IMS’s analyst teams with its recent Displaybank acquisition, and its IHS iSuppli and IHS Screen Digest products and services.