London Stock Exchange seals $27bn Refinitiv deal in bid to build Bloomberg rival
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said today it had sealed a deal to buy data business Refinitiv in a transaction worth $27bn (£22.3bn).
LSEG is buying the business in an all-share transaction from Thomson Reuters and a consortium led by private equity firm Blackstone which includes an affiliate of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and an affiliate of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.
Read more: London Stock Exchange share price hits record high on Refinitiv takeover talks
The deal will result in Refinitiv’s shareholders holding an approximately 37 per cent interest in LSEG and voting rights of less than 30 per cent.
The deal is subject to approval by LSEG’s shareholders, and if it fails to go through LSEG has agreed to pay a termination fee of £198.3m to Refinitiv.
The deal also needs to be cleared by competition authorities, with EU regulators expected to review the transaction.
The combined business is expected to generate revenue of over £6bn annually.
The business will be chaired by LSE’s chairman Don Robert and led by its chief executive David Schwimmer.
Refinitiv chief executive David Craig will continue in his role and also join LSEG’s executive committee.
Schwimmer said: “Today, we have announced a proposed transaction to acquire Refinitiv, a leading global provider of data, analytics and financial markets solutions.
“This transformational acquisition creates a multi-asset class capital markets business and brings world class data content, management and distribution capabilities to LSEG, accelerating our strategy and expanding our global footprint.”
Trevor Green, head of UK institutional equity funds at Aviva Investors, said: “As long-term shareholders, we are highly supportive of this acquisition. Back in May, LSE CEO David Schwimmer said that the group was strategically well positioned to develop its growth opportunities further in the evolving macroeconomic landscape.
“This deal is totally aligned with that vision and the firm’s track record of making value-enhancing acquisitions in growth areas. This will materially accelerate the business’s move into the date services space and is a major step in making them an even more international business.”
Read more: London listings triple in second quarter after Brexit extension
In its half-year results today LSEG said total revenue was up seven per cent to just over £1bn, with operating profit up two per cent to £399m.
London Stock Exchange’s share price rose five per cent in early trading to 6,984p.