S&P Global agrees to acquire OpenZeppelin in Web3 security deal

S&P Global has agreed to acquire smart contract security company OpenZeppelin. The deal would place OpenZeppelin within the group that includes S&P Global Ratings. The transaction remains subject to closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed. S&P Global does not expect the deal to materially affect its financial results. Future versions of OpenZeppelin Contracts will remain open source. OpenZeppelin extended that commitment to its other open-source applications and tools. The current Contracts repository uses the MIT License. The license grants broad rights to use, copy, modify, and distribute the software. OpenZeppelin said released versions will remain open source permanently. OpenZeppelin said those versions cannot be withdrawn. OpenZeppelin says more than $37 trillion in value has been transferred through its Contracts software since 2015. S&P Global says OpenZeppelin would keep its name after closing. OpenZeppelin would operate as its own business unit. Demian Brener would continue leading the company. Brener would report to Yann Le Pallec, president of S&P Global Ratings. OpenZeppelin said its security audits will continue with the same team. Its engineering work will also continue with the same team. Its ecosystem programs will continue with the same team. The change would give OpenZeppelin access to S&P Global's research capacity. It would also provide access to market data and institutional reach. OpenZeppelin's public code and core client work would continue if the deal closes as announced. The agreement does not guarantee unchanged pricing for every paid product. It also does not guarantee unchanged features or usage limits. OpenZeppelin's current terms of service permit certain changes to paid or hosted plans. Those changes can include pricing, features, quotas, and usage limits. Protections and notice depend on the type of change. Until closing, OpenZeppelin remains subject to a pending acquisition agreement and is not an S&P Global business unit.