Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East
    • 2023 ESG Investing
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. ALTERNATIVES
January 30, 2018 12:00 AM

Blackstone set for biggest bet in decade on Thomson Reuters data

Bloomberg
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Getty Images/iStockphoto

    Blackstone Group's potential acquisition of part of Thomson Reuters Corp. would be the biggest bet by the asset manager since the global financial crisis, boosting its presence in the $27 billion-a-year industry for financial information.

    The U.S. firm is in talks to buy a 55% stake in the Thomson Reuters unit that provides data, analytics and trading to Wall Street and financial professionals around the world, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The unit, which doesn't include the news-gathering operations, would be valued at about $20 billion including debt, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are confidential. Blackstone's contribution of equity and borrowings would be about $17 billion, one of the people said.

    Blackstone sees attractive growth in the Thomson Reuters unit's data feed, its foreign exchange and treasury trading platforms, as well as its risk and compliance business, according to a person familiar with the matter. The division could also improve operations more quickly as a private company, the person said. The unit accounted for more than half of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2016.

    Thomson Reuters shares rose 9.5% at 10:41 a.m. in New York trading to $47.58, valuing the company at about $34 billion.

    "Data and analytics are an attractive, fairly defensive business area," said Alex DeGroote, an analyst at Cenkos Securities in London. "Blackstone already has ownership of Ipreo, so is familiar with this vertical. Together Blackstone and TR can commit capital to growing this business."

    Alongside Goldman Sachs Group's merchant banking arm, Blackstone acquired financial technology firm Ipreo Holdings for $975 million in 2014.

    The discussions center on Thomson Reuters' financial and risk division, which had $6.1 billion in revenue in 2016, according to a statement late Monday from Toronto-based Thomson Reuters. Controlled by one of Canada's richest families, Thomson Reuters would cede its flagship Eikon terminal business while keeping the news operations, as well as ownership of its legal, tax and accounting arm. The discussions may not lead to an agreement, according to the statement.

    Blackstone declined to comment.

    The board of Thomson Reuters is expected to meet Tuesday to discuss the potential transaction, a separate person with knowledge of the matter said.

    Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, competes with Thomson Reuters in providing news, data and information to the financial industry. Peter Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg LP, is a non-executive director at Blackstone.

    While Blackstone is no stranger to large deals, an agreement with Thomson Reuters would mark the firm's biggest check since the global financial crisis.

    Operations at Blackstone, which had about $387 billion in assets under management at the end of September, include a $102 billion private equity unit, a real estate division, a hedge fund business and a portfolio of credit assets.

    The Thomson Reuters deal would be done by Blackstone's private equity unit, which is in the process of deploying an $18 billion fund. Any transaction would add to the $105 billion of private equity deals targeting the media and technology industries over the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    Related Articles
    Blackstone to acquire Aon's record-keeping business
    Blackstone closes fifth Europe real estate fund at €7.8 billion
    Blackstone to acquire Harvest Fund Advisors
    Blackstone's AUM up 4.4% for quarter 7.3% for year
    Blackstone Alternative Asset Management taps new CEO to succeed J. Tomilson Hill
    Blackstone, CPPIB, GIC consortium to acquire 55% stake in Thomson Reuters data …
    Blackstone assets rise 12% in quarter to end record-setting year
    Blackstone adds to Asian real estate team
    Blackstone, GSAM acquire interest in tech-oriented private equity firm
    Recommended for You
    Ex-Goldman President Schwartz is top contender for Carlyle CEO
    FS Investments and Portfolio Advisors ink deal to create $73 billion alternatives manager
    FS Investments and Portfolio Advisors ink deal to create $73 billion alternatives manager
    ONLINE_190529857_AR_0_WWPEWVXMXAAN.jpg
    Alternative assets generally saw a banner year in 2022 – Preqin
    The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing
    Sponsored Content: The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing

    Reader Poll

    January 25, 2023
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Show Me the Income: Discovering plan sponsor and participant preferences for cr…
    The Future of Infrastructure: Building a Better Tomorrow
    Outlook 2023: Opportunity in a volatile world
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East
      • 2023 ESG Investing