IT research firm Gartner to buy CEB to expand business analysis

(Reuters) - IT research and advisory company Gartner Inc said on Thursday it would buy CEB Inc , a provider of business research and analysis, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $2.6 billion to expand its business services.

The deal will broaden Gartner's research business through the addition of CEB's services, which include research and analysis related to human resources, sales, finance and the law.

Gartner is offering $54 in cash and 0.2284 of its shares for each CEB share. The deal represents a premium of about 25 percent to CEB's Wednesday close.

CEB's shares were up 16.4 percent at $72.05 in premarket trading, below the implied offer price of $77.25 per share. Gartner's shares, which closed at $101.79 on Wednesday, were untraded.

Gartner shareholders will own about 91 percent of the combined company.

CEB, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, has a 35-day "go-shop" period during which it can solicit alternative proposals.

Stamford, Connecticut based-Gartner said the deal would immediately add to adjusted earnings per share on completion, expected in the first half of 2017, and be "double-digit percentage accretive" to adjusted EPS in 2018.

Evercore and Goldman, Sachs & Co advised Gartner. Centerview Partners LLC was lead adviser to CEB, with Allen & Co LLC also advising.

(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)