U.S. information and analytics provider IHS Inc. and U.K.-based market-data company Markit Ltd. said they would combine to create a $13 billion company based in London.

By moving to the U.K., IHS will be able to take advantage of the country’s lower corporate-tax rate through what is known as a tax inversion, a way for U.S. companies to avoid paying taxes at home. The new company, to be called IHS Markit, is expecting a corporate-tax rate in the low- to mid-20% range, compared with the 35% U.S. firms pay.

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