The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has entered discussions with Octus, a New York‑headquartered financial data provider, and its private‑equity owner Permira about a potential acquisition, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Potential deal under evaluation
Permira, which has been exploring a sale of Octus since last year, is working with advisers to gauge interest from LSEG. The firm also continues talks with other prospective industry buyers, according to one source.
Octus supplies credit‑market information, focusing on companies in financial distress, to banks and investors. Its team includes journalists, analysts and legal experts who use technology to sift through regulatory and court filings.
LSEG’s strategic interest
LSEG, the owner of the London Stock Exchange, is the largest customer of Reuters, which provides news for its Workspace platform and other data products. Acquiring Octus could deepen LSEG’s data‑analytics capabilities and broaden its offering to financial‑services clients.
A spokesperson for LSEG declined to comment on the talks, and Permira also declined to comment. Octus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Industry context
The move reflects ongoing consolidation in the financial‑data sector, where firms seek to combine market‑data, news and analytics to serve institutional investors more comprehensively.
While no deal is guaranteed, the discussions indicate LSEG’s continued push to expand its data and technology portfolio beyond traditional exchange services.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
