The combined company will have approximately $750 million of revenues and approximately 2,000 employees across 20 countries, a statement from MSCI said.

MSCI’s offer consists of $16.35 in cash and 0.1802 shares of MSCI per share of RiskMetrics. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the shareholders of RiskMetrics, the receipt by MSCI of the proceeds of the debt financing for the transaction, antitrust clearance and other customary regulatory approvals.

The transaction is currently expected to close in MSCI’s third fiscal quarter of 2010. The boards of both firms have approved the deal.

“One of the key trends that has been driving the growth of our analytics business is the increased need to understand, measure, manage, and report risk. The combination of MSCI’s expertise in portfolio equity risk models and analytics, and RiskMetrics’ powerful multi-asset class risk management platform creates a comprehensive, best of breed portfolio risk management offering, which will provide our clients with a seamless view of risk across the front and middle office,” said Henry Fernandez, chairman and chief executive of MSCI.