By Amy-Jo Crowley
LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange Group has held talks with Octus and its private equity owner Permira over a possible bid for the New York-headquartered financial data provider, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
London-based Permira is working with advisers to evaluate interest in Octus, the people said, adding that there is no certainty a deal with LSEG will materialise. A deal is expected to value the data provider at around $3.5 billion, one said.
A spokesperson for LSEG, whose shares dipped as much as 2.7%, declined to comment.
Permira declined to comment. Octus did not respond to a request for comment.
Permira, which has been planning a sale of Octus since last year, has also held talks with other potential industry buyers, one of the people said. It acquired a controlling stake in Octus at a valuation of $1.3 billion from Warburg Pincus in 2022.
Octus provides information on credit markets, with a focus on companies in financial distress, for banks and investors. It employs journalists, analysts and legal experts, using technology to scour regulatory and court filings.
A potential Octus transaction, if it went ahead, would mark a further uptick of dealmaking in the data analytics sector, despite a selloff in listed stocks earlier this year.
YipitData, backed by investors including Carlyle Group, is exploring a sale that could value the data analytics provider at more than $2.5 billion, while Vista Equity Partners is exploring a sale of private markets data provider Allvue.
LSEG has been under pressure to improve its performance from activist investor Elliott Management, which disclosed a stake in the exchange operator in February.
LSEG is the largest customer of Reuters, which provides news for its Workspace news and data platform and other products.
(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley in London; Additional reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London; Editing by Anousha Sakoui, Elisa Martinuzzi and Alexander Smith)
