MSCI announced that it is acquiring First Street, a provider of physics-based climate risk data and analytics for properties worldwide.
The acquisition is intended to strengthen MSCI’s global physical climate risk capabilities and expand the company’s ability to support financial decision-making around climate-related risks. First Street provides models and analytics that help investors, lenders, insurers, corporations, and other institutions assess how physical climate risks may affect properties, companies, and portfolios.
MSCI said demand is growing for physical climate risk insights that can be embedded directly into investment and risk workflows. As extreme weather events become more financially material, institutions increasingly need tools that translate climate exposure into measurable business and investment impacts.
First Street’s research found that companies have become more than 6.5 times as likely to issue profit warnings following extreme weather events over the past two decades. MSCI said the integration of First Street’s data and tools into its existing climate and geospatial solutions will enable quantified assessments of financially relevant physical climate risk at any geographic coordinate and across more than 2 billion structures worldwide.
First Street provides multi-hazard models that incorporate climate signals and are validated against observed events. These models assess current and future exposure to physical risks, asset damage, and business interruption.
The company’s technology is powered by proprietary data on building characteristics, infrastructure dependencies, and site-level adaptation. This enables First Street’s models to translate physical hazards into financial impact estimates.
First Street’s interactive platform provides visualizations and on-demand analytics for individual properties, companies, and portfolios within an AI-enabled workflow. These capabilities are expected to help MSCI customers meet regulatory and reporting requirements while also supporting physical risk management, adaptation planning, and resilience strategies.
MSCI said the acquisition comes as extreme weather, geopolitical disruption, and supply chain volatility are making asset location a more important factor in evaluating investment risk and opportunity. The company said banks, insurance companies, asset managers, asset owners, and corporations increasingly need location-based risk intelligence to make better decisions.
The acquisition further builds on MSCI’s climate investment tools and research, including its work in geospatial intelligence, climate scenario analysis, and transition finance.
The transaction includes a $120 million cash payment at closing, subject to customary adjustments. The deal also includes the potential for additional cash payments during the first two years after closing if certain revenue thresholds are achieved.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. After closing, First Street’s financial results will be reported within MSCI’s Sustainability and Climate segment.
KEY QUOTES:
“The financial consequences of where assets are located have come into sharp focus due to the recent geopolitical turmoil, supply chain disruption and the growing impact of climate hazards. In response, investors, lenders and insurers are increasingly looking for more in-depth and actionable analysis of the physical risk held in the footprint of a company’s operations and investments.”
“The integration of First Street data into MSCI’s existing geospatial capabilities will enable clients to be better informed about their changing risk exposures and translate that directly into financial decision-making.”
Richard Mattison, Head of Sustainability and Climate at MSCI
“First Street was built on the simple conviction that every financial decision should account for a changing climate. We built the Climate Risk Financial Modeling (CRFM) category to turn that conviction into reality. Joining MSCI puts our property-level science in front of the world’s leading investors, lenders and insurers and turns climate risk from a disclosure exercise into a daily input for how capital is priced and allocated.”
Matthew Eby, Founder and CEO of First Street
