NEW YORK & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Group, a global leader in financial information services owned by Hearst, today announced it will acquire CreditSights, Inc., a leading provider of independent credit research to the global financial community.
The company is being acquired from the founders, along with other shareholders and investors. Financial terms for the deal were not disclosed, and closing is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Following the closing, CreditSights will become part of Fitch Group’s Fitch Solutions division, as it further expands its research coverage of investment grade, leveraged and distressed debt markets. Fitch Solutions is a leading provider of credit and macro intelligence, and the primary partner to Fitch Ratings for the distribution of its ratings-related content.
Founded in 2000, CreditSights is a leading provider of subscription-based, independent credit research, risk tools and comprehensive market insights to finance professionals around the world. Headquartered in New York, with offices in London, Singapore and Denver, the company has over 200 full-time employees.
CreditSights’ core research product provides in-depth, market-relevant research. Covering more than 1,200 issuers, CreditSights helps financial market participants make better informed decisions on investments, asset allocation, trading and risk management.
Through the acquisition of CreditSights, Fitch Group will complement its portfolio by adding a leading provider of relative value credit research to a suite of products that includes legal analyses and fixed-income news offered by Fitch Solutions Leveraged Finance Intelligence through its Covenant Review, Capital Structure, LevFin Insights and PacerMonitor brands, as well as the credit ratings and research from Fitch Ratings.
Paul Taylor, President and CEO of Fitch Group, said:
“We are delighted to bring CreditSights into the companies of Fitch Group. CreditSights’ independent research is highly regarded by financial market participants worldwide. The acquisition will provide a unique opportunity to create enhanced offerings for the benefit of both Fitch’s and CreditSights’ customers, increasing information and transparency in the global capital markets.”
Peter Petas, CEO of CreditSights, said:
“Twenty years after we founded CreditSights, I am excited for this next chapter for the firm and for us to be an integral part of Fitch Solutions. The combination of our best-in-class research with Fitch Solutions’ businesses will allow us to enhance the solutions we can offer and expand the ways we can partner with our clients.”
DC Advisory served as financial advisor to CreditSights on this transaction.
About Fitch Group
Fitch Group is a global leader in financial information services with operations in more than 30 countries. Fitch Group is comprised of: Fitch Ratings, a global leader in credit ratings and research; Fitch Solutions, a leading provider of data, research & analytics; and Fitch Learning, a preeminent training and professional development firm. With dual headquarters in London and New York, Fitch Group is owned by Hearst.
About CreditSights, Inc.
CreditSights empowers nearly 15,000 financial professionals among the world’s largest institutions with the credit-risk tools, independent research and comprehensive market insights they need to make well-informed credit-risk decisions. Setting the standard for global credit research since 2000, CreditSights provides timely data, news, recommendations and unbiased analysis of the investment-grade and high yield debt securities of 1,200+ issuers around the world. CreditSights delivers this content through innovative platforms, enabling market participants to know more, risk better and ultimately create value.
About Hearst
Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19% of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); more than 300 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital entertainment companies such as Complex Networks. Follow us on Twitter @Hearst. To learn more about Hearst, visit hearst.com.
