Acuris

Last updated
Acuris
FormerlyMergermarket Group
Company typePrivately held company
FoundedDecember 1999;24 years ago (1999-12) (as Mergermarket Group)
FoundersCaspar Hobbs
Charlie Welsh
Gawn Rowan Hamilton
Headquarters
London, England, U.K.
New York City, New York, U.S.
Hong Kong
Mumbai, India
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Yanita Morris (CCO)
OwnerION Investment Group
BC Partners
Number of employees
1,300 (2017)
Website www.acuris.com

Acuris is a British financial news and data firm known for its fixed income research provider Debtwire and Mergermarket, a specialist in M&A intelligence. It is owned by ION Investment Group, a financial software and data business which owns Fidessa and Dealogic. ION Investment Group bought the company from BC Partners, a private equity group, and GIC Private Limited, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, in 2019. [1]

Contents

Formerly known as Mergermarket Group, the company has 1,300 staff, including 600 journalists and analysts, in 67 locations around the world, [2] with regional hubs in London, New York, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

History

Acuris began with a single product, Mergermarket, which was established in December 1999 by founders Caspar Hobbs, Charlie Welsh and Gawn Rowan Hamilton. Its founding idea was that in the M&A market, “There is a lot of information out there but very little intelligence.” [3]

In August 2006 the company, then known as Mergermarket Ltd, was acquired by The Financial Times Group for £101m, [4] [5] publisher of the Financial Times newspaper and FT.com. FT Group was a division of Pearson PLC, the international media group.

In 2013, the company was renamed to Mergermarket Group. In November 2013, Pearson agreed to sell Mergermarket Group to London private equity investor BC Partners in a transaction valuing the business intelligence and news service at £382m including debt. Based on the deal, Mergermarket Group was valued at 15 times its last year operating income. [6]

On 15 January 2014, Moody's Investors Service assigned a B3 corporate family rating to the Mergermarket Group. [7]

In July 2017, the Mergermarket Group rebranded as Acuris. The announcement of this move fueled speculation that a sale of the company might come in the next year. [8] Indeed, BC Partners sold a minority stake of around 30% to Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC in July 2017. [9]

In May 2019, BC Partners sold a majority stake in Acuris to ION Investment Group, a financial software and data business which owns Fidessa, in an £1.35bn deal. [10] [11] BC Partners will retain a 25% stake in the company, while GIC is selling out.

Services

Acuris sells web-based subscription services organised under six divisions: [12]

Acquisitions and divestitures

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohlberg Kravis Roberts</span> American investment manager

KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company. As of December 31, 2023, the firm had completed private equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total enterprise value. Its assets under management (AUM) and fee paying assets under management (FPAUM) were $553 billion and $446 billion, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence Equity</span> American global private equity investment firm

Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity investments and has invested in more than 170 companies globally since its inception in 1989.

DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, DigitalBridge has key offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apax Partners</span> British private equity firm

Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of March 2024, the firm had raised and advised funds of approximately US$77 billion. Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lone Star Funds</span> American private equity firm

Lone Star Funds, legal name of main entity Lone Star Global Acquisitions, Ltd. is an American private equity firm that invests in distressed assets in the U.S., Canada and internationally. The founder of Lone Star established its first fund in 1995 and Lone Star has to date organized 21 private equity funds with total capital commitments since inception of over $86 billion. Lone Star's investors include corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, foundations, fund of funds and high-net-worth individuals. Lone Star Funds has affiliate offices in North America, Europe and Japan.

Lexington Partners is one of the largest manager of secondary acquisition and co-Investment funds in the world, founded in 1994. Lexington manages approximately $55 billion of which an unprecedented $14 billion was committed to the firm's ninth fund, the largest dedicated secondaries pool of capital ever raised at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BC Partners</span> Private equity firm

BC Partners LLP is a British international investment firm with over $40 billion of assets under management across private equity, credit and real estate in Europe and North America. Its global headquarters are in London. The firm invests across all industries. BC Partners was founded in 1986 and has offices in New York, Paris and Hamburg. Since inception, BC Partners has completed 113 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of €145 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PAI Partners</span> French private equity firm

PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, historically the principal investment arm of Paribas, which started operations in 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advent International</span> Global private equity firm

Advent International Corporation is an American global private equity firm focused on buyouts of companies in Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on international buyouts, growth and strategic restructuring in five core sectors.

Charterhouse Capital Partners is a London based private equity investment firm focused on investing in European mid-market companies valued between €200m and €1.5bn. The company targets investments across the services, healthcare, specialised industrials and consumer sectors.

Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is a private equity investment firm focusing on transactions in Australia and New Zealand. PEP invests across a range of industries and sectors, in turnaround and growth capital transactions. By 2023, The Australian Financial Review reported PEP to be Australia's largest private equity firm.

Alchemy Partners is a British private equity firm, which specialises in investing in distressed and undervalued or underperforming businesses and other special situations through debt and equity throughout Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverfleet Capital</span>

Silverfleet Capital is a regionally focused European mid-market private equity firm.

OpCapita is a British private equity firm specialising in the retail, consumer and leisure industries. The firm invests in underperforming businesses that require operational support to improve profitability and create long-term, sustainable value. OpCapita was established in 2006, by American financier Henry Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECI Partners</span>

ECI Partners is a growth focused private equity group based in the UK and the US, first established by the Bank of England in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CDH Investments</span> Chinese alternative asset management firm

CDH Investments is a major Chinese alternative asset management firm based in Beijing, China. It specializes in private equity, venture capital and credit products. CDH invests across a range of sectors and regions. As of March 2015, CDH manages over RMB 100 billion of investor capital across its various investment platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Schwartz</span> American politician (born 1950)

Daniel Mark Schwartz is an American businessman who served as Nevada State Treasurer from January 2015 to January 2019. An international businessman, attorney and Republican, Schwartz defeated his Democratic opponent, former Nevada State Controller Kim Wallin, in 2014.

EQT Private Capital Asia (formerly known as Baring Private Equity Asia, BPEA and BPEA EQT) is an Asian investment firm headquartered in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1997 as an affiliate of Barings Bank before becoming an independent firm in 2000. In 2022, it was acquired by EQT AB to act as its Asian investment platform. EQT Private Capital Asia is one of the largest private equity firms in Asia.

Blue Owl Capital Inc. is an American alternative investment asset management company. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol: "OWL".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everstone Capital Asia</span> Singapore-based venture capital firm

Everstone Capital Asia, established in 2006, is a private equity firm founded by Sameer Sain and Atul Kapur. Headquartered in Singapore, it operates globally, maintaining offices not only in India and Singapore but also in London, New York City, Mauritius, and United Arab Emirates.

References

  1. ↑ "Dealogic owner ION buys controlling stake in data firm Acuris". Reuters. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  2. ↑ "The Acuris Story". Acuris. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  3. ↑ "Army major cashes in on Mergermarket sale" . The Independent. 2006-08-09. Archived from the original on 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  4. ↑ https://www.pearson.com/news/announcements/2006/august/pearson-acquires-mergermarket-adds-new-financial-content-and-serv.html [ dead link ]
  5. ↑ "Pearson agrees to sell Mergermarket unit to BC Partners". Financial Times. Financial Times. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Chassany, Anne-Sylvaine; Mance, Henry (29 November 2013). "Pearson agrees to sell Mergermarket unit to BC Partners". Financial Times.
  7. ↑ "Moody's assigns B3 CFR to Mergermarket; stable outlook". 15 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Mergermarket rebrand fuels speculation of possible sale | City A.M." www.cityam.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27.
  9. ↑ "BC Partners sells minority stake in Mergermarket to GIC | Real Deals".
  10. ↑ Espinoza, Javier (12 May 2019). "Software and data group Ion buys Acuris in £1.35bn deal". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  11. ↑ "BC Partners sells majority stake in Acuris to ION Investment Group". Acuris. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  12. ↑ "Welcome to Acuris | Acuris". www.acuris.com. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  13. ↑ "Mergermarket acquires Inframation Group". Private Equity Wire. 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  14. ↑ "Mergermarket Completes £26M Perfect Info Buy - WatersTechnology.com". WatersTechnology.com. 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  15. ↑ "Law Report Group sold on to Mergermarket". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  16. ↑ "Incisive Media sells AVCJ and Unquote to Mergermarket - Incisive Media". Incisive Media. 2015-09-22. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  17. ↑ "Mergermarket Group Acquires C6 Intelligence". FinSMEs. 2015-11-12. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  18. ↑ Ratcliffe, Madeline (2016-01-06). "Mergermarket continues global expansion by buying Creditflux" . Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  19. ↑ Harrington, Ben (2017-03-19). "Data giant sells £20m arm". The Sunday Times. ISSN   0956-1382 . Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  20. ↑ "Mergermarket Group acquisition". TIM Group. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.