NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A consortium led by Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) – together with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) and GIC – have completed the previously announced partnership transaction with Thomson Reuters (TSX / NYSE: TRI) for Thomson Reuters’ Financial & Risk (F&R) business. The Blackstone-led consortium now owns 55 percent of the equity in a new corporation created to hold the F&R business, and Thomson Reuters retains a 45 percent equity stake, at an overall valuation of US$20 billion. The Financial & Risk business is now known as Refinitiv.
Refinitiv is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets
data and infrastructure, providing leading data and insights, trading
platforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect
communities of trading, investment, financial and corporate
professionals. It also provides leading regulatory and risk management
solutions to help customers anticipate and manage risk and compliance.
Martin
Brand, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “We are pleased
to close this landmark partnership transaction with Thomson Reuters.
Blackstone is excited to invest in Refinitiv to pursue a business plan
focused on accelerating growth through innovation, in partnership with
Refinitiv’s customers.”
Eli Nagler, a Managing Director at
Blackstone, added: “We are excited to complete this transaction and look
forward to supporting Refinitiv’s growth and continued technology
advancements in the years ahead.”
Through this investment and
carve out of F&R by the Blackstone-led consortium, the new Refinitiv
business expects to invest in a number of key areas to serve its
customer base, which currently includes 40,000 institutions in over 190
countries. This includes further investing in content coverage, AI and
analytics across its open data platforms Elektron and Eikon for
buy-side, trading, wealth and banking customers. It also plans to invest
in enhanced capabilities for its leading platforms for trading, as well
as in indices, risk management, and fighting financial crime.
“This
is a unique moment in our 160-year history as the Financial & Risk
business of Thomson Reuters now steps forward as Refinitiv,” said David
Craig, CEO of Refinitiv. “We firmly believe that efficient, transparent
and trusted markets are good for all and that Refinitiv’s role is at the
heart of this, providing access to clean and consistent data on a global
scale. With the backing of our investors, Refinitiv will continue to
deliver the critical data, insights and open technology infrastructure
that the market has come to expect while driving progress for our
customers across trading, risk, banking, wealth and investment
management and in areas such as financial crime and ESG investment. We
look forward to exciting times ahead.”
Canson Capital Partners, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan are acting as financial advisors to the Blackstone-led consortium, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal counsel to the Blackstone-led consortium.
About Blackstone
Blackstone
is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create
positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the
companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this
by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies
solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with approximately $440
billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused
on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment
grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.
Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.
About
CPPIB
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)
is a professional investment management organization that invests the
funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current
benefits on behalf of 20 million contributors and beneficiaries. In
order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in
public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed
income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong,
London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, São Paulo and Sydney, CPPIB
is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at
arm's length from governments. At June 30, 2018, the CPP Fund totalled
C$366.6 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com
or follow us on LinkedIn,
Facebook
or Twitter.
About GIC
GIC is a leading
global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign
reserves. A disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely
positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes,
including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and
infrastructure. In private equity, GIC invests through funds as well as
directly in companies, partnering with its fund managers and management
teams to help world class businesses achieve their objectives. GIC has
investments in over 40 countries and has been investing in emerging
markets for more than two decades. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC
employs over 1,500 people across 10 offices in key financial cities
worldwide. For more information on GIC, please visit www.gic.com.sg.
About
Refinitiv
Refinitiv is one of the world’s largest
providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, serving over
40,000 institutions in over 190 countries. It provides leading data and
insights, trading platforms, and open data and technology platforms that
connect a thriving global financial markets community - driving
performance in trading, investment, wealth management, regulatory
compliance, market data management, enterprise risk and fighting
financial crime. www.refinitiv.com
