On Wednesday, Marsh & McLennan (MMC -0.38%) subsidiary Mercer announced that it has purchased the Coopers Mining Industry Salary Surveys database, client relationships, and consulting services business of privately held Hall Consulting Limited, a leading source of information on the mining industry in North America.
Mercer is a recognized leader in providing data support to the human resources industry, supplying information not only on standard salaries that help companies decide how much to offer their new hires, but also on such details as the cost of living in countries, and cities, to which executives might be dispatched for work abroad.
In a statement describing today's acquisition, Mercer noted that the database it bought contains salary information on "some 150 positions collected from more than 200 mining operations in the U.S. and Canada." While not comprehensive, that's a good representative sampling of the 2,000 publicly traded mining companies currently operating in Canada and the U.S., and a good start for Mercer as it works "to grow it is talent information and consulting services in the industry."
Specific financial details on Mercer's purchase were not disclosed. Nevertheless, investors responded positively to the news, bidding up Mercer shares by 0.8% in Wednesday trading, to close at $36.30.
