Why S&P Global Stock Bumped Higher Today

A potential spin-off of a key business unit was the development that pushed S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) stock slightly higher on Tuesday. Shares of the company behind the famous family of stock indexes rose by 1%. Interestingly, this was more than sufficient to beat its own S&P 500 index, which fell slightly on the day.

Possible divestment

Early that afternoon, Bloomberg reported that S&P Global's management is considering carving out Capital IQ Pro, its data and research platform, perhaps into a separate, publicly traded company. Citing unnamed "people familiar with the matter," the financial news agency added that the company was in the early stages of considering such a move.

If accurate, it'll probably advance to later stages. Bloomberg's sources said that "CapIQ," as it's commonly known in the financial industry and among investors, could boast a valuation in the high single-digit billions of dollars.

Those people added a caveat that S&P Global could ultimately decide not to separate CapIQ. When contacted by Bloomberg, an unnamed spokesperson for S&P Global refused to comment on the story.

A valuable asset

CapIQ is a sprawling platform with mountains of financial data; Bloomberg said it has information on over 60 million private companies, for a start. It also has significant, widespread name recognition among financial professionals, which enhances its brand value. It's entirely reasonable to expect it to command a high valuation if spun off from its parent.

Since this consideration is apparently in the early stages, investors were only cautiously optimistic that it would happen somewhere down the road. I wouldn't buy into S&P Global simply because of the possibility of a CapIQ divestment -- it's way too speculative at this stage -- but it's certainly a story worth keeping an eye on.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.