The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has signed a deal to buy Mergent Inc, a company that provides business and financial data on global publicly listed companies. According to LSEG, Mergent Inc would add to their data and analytics capabilities, while it would form part of their information services division.
The transaction was set to be completed by 31 January 2017.
Mergent has been engaged in supplying business and financial data and information for over 100 years. It would now also support the growth of FTSE Russell’s core index offering and data services, LSEG said.
“Mergent will broaden our range of data services, research and analytics to meet the increasing demands of our clients for benchmarks and related data and analytic services”, said Mark Makepeace, FTSE Russell’s chief executive and LSEG’s group director of information services.
Mergent Inc CEO Jonathan Worrall said, “Mergent is delighted to become part of FTSE Russell and the wider London Stock Exchange Group”.
LSEG said there had been significant growth of passive investments and demand was increasing for smart-beta and customised indices, which incorporated factors such as volatility, quality and liquidity into index creation.
“Multi-factor indexes, which include stocks with specific characteristics, are an important and innovative new tool for examining markets and creating investable products and FTSE Russell is well-positioned to meet this growing customer demand”, the LSEG added.
LSEG and FTSE Russell also plan to expand and align Mergent’s activities to meet their existing client demands.
