LSE to acquire financial data provider Mergent
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of business and financial data provider Mergent.
The Mergent business will form part of LSE’s information services division, which includes FTSE Russell, a provider of indexes, and real-time and reference data products.
Mark Makepeace, group director of information services and CEO of FTSE Russell, says the acquisition supports its growth plans and “will broaden” its range of data services, research and analytics.
Mergent provides data and analysis including top down economic and demographic information, equity and debt fundamental analysis and research services. These solutions, which include data on 385,000 corporate bonds, 3.6 million US municipal bonds and 250 million public and private companies, are delivered to more than 4,000 customers worldwide including investment firms, brokerage houses and law firms.
Completion of the transaction is expected to occur by 31 January 2017, and is conditional on, among other things, expiration or termination of the waiting period under the US Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Cuts deep
Recently, LSE said its all-share merger with Deutsche Börse could result in 1,250 job losses.
In March, after speculation and a rival bid, both parties reached agreement to create a Europe-based global markets infrastructure group valued at about £21 billion. The merger is expected to be finalised by the end of this year or early 2017.
