The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has agreed to acquire New York-based credit data firm Octus from the British private equity company Permira in a deal valued at approximately $3.5 billion (£2.6 billion). This transaction, the largest takeover for LSEG since its $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv in 2019, is expected to close next year and is aimed at enhancing LSEG’s offerings in the growing credit and private markets sectors.
Octus, formerly known as Reorg, specializes in providing intelligence, news, and data on leveraged loans, distressed debt, insolvencies, and other credit-related markets. Founded in 2013, it serves investment banks, law firms, advisory businesses, and other financial professionals, primarily in the United States and Europe. The firm generated over $300 million in revenue this year and employs a technology-driven approach to deliver proprietary data, regulatory insights, risk analytics, and workflow tools focused on private and illiquid asset classes.
David Schwimmer, CEO of LSEG, highlighted the strategic value of the acquisition, stating that combining Octus’s data and intelligence with LSEG’s existing analytics capabilities will create a “powerful offering” for customers and accelerate growth. He emphasized the unique position of Octus’s proprietary datasets, which are difficult to replicate and considered essential by market participants managing private credit and distressed debt portfolios. Schwimmer also addressed concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt financial data businesses, asserting that the quality and uniqueness of LSEG’s data remains a significant competitive advantage unlikely to be commoditized by AI technologies.
Kent Collier, Octus’s founder and chief executive, will remain with the company following the acquisition, which will integrate Octus into LSEG’s data and analytics division. Collier expressed enthusiasm about the cultural fit between the firms and the opportunity to expand Octus’s client offerings through LSEG’s broader platform.
Permira acquired Octus in 2022 for around $1.3 billion, making this sale a notable return on investment within a relatively short period. The deal comes amid a challenging environment for private equity exits due to high valuations made during the 2020-2022 period. It also follows other recent significant transactions for Permira, such as the sale of the wealth management group Evelyn Partners to NatWest earlier this year.
LSEG’s shares rose roughly 7.7 percent on the announcement, reflecting investor optimism about the deal’s potential to strengthen the group’s data revenue streams, which now comprise nearly half of its total income. The acquisition coincides with LSEG’s ongoing shift away from traditional stock market activities toward data and analytics services. The group recently reported an 8.8 percent increase in total income for the third quarter, driven by growth in its markets and FTSE Russell divisions as well as its risk intelligence and data analytics units.
Market analysts view the acquisition positively. UBS described it as a strategically sound move that positions LSEG offensively in a sector where AI-driven disruption was previously feared. Citigroup noted the complementary nature of Octus’s client base—which skews towards investment managers and law firms in the U.S.—and LSEG’s predominantly investment banking and European customer base, highlighting significant cross-selling opportunities.
The deal also follows an announcement by Tradeweb, a company partly owned by LSEG, to acquire the bond trading platform Trumid for about $1.75 billion, underscoring LSEG's broader focus on expanding its presence in financial data and trading services. Meanwhile, activist investor Elliott Management has recently increased its stake in LSEG, pressing for a substantial share buyback and a review of the group’s complex structure. Despite these pressures, LSEG has indicated it plans further share repurchases in 2027, having already returned £2.6 billion to investors this year.