LSEG Confirms Talks to Buy Octus From Permira at a Valuation Around $3.5 Billion

London Stock Exchange Group confirmed on Tuesday that it is in talks with Permira about buying Octus, the New York-headquartered credit-data provider, in a transaction that would value the business at around $3.5 billion.

The confirmation came after reporting that the exchange group had been weighing a bid. In its statement, LSEG said the potential acquisition would be immediately accretive to its data and analytics and group revenue growth, while adding that no firm decisions have been taken. That pairing — an endorsement of the strategic logic and an explicit warning that there may be no deal — is the whole story for now.

Talks confirmed, terms still open

Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that LSEG has held talks with both Octus and its private equity owner, and that Permira is working with advisers to evaluate interest in the business. One of the people put the expected valuation at around $3.5 billion. Permira has also held talks with other potential industry buyers, the people said, and there is no certainty a transaction with LSEG will materialize.

Permira declined to comment on the confirmed talks, and Octus did not respond to a request for comment on the earlier reporting. An LSEG spokesperson had declined to comment before the group issued its statement confirming the discussions.

A distressed-debt specialist built for credit markets

Octus provides information on credit markets, with a particular focus on companies in financial distress, to banks and investors. It employs journalists, analysts and legal experts alongside a technology platform that scours regulatory and court filings, and Financial News put its reach at more than 40,000 financial professionals, counting investment banks, asset managers, law firms and debt advisers among its clients.

Permira bought a controlling stake in the business in 2022 at a valuation of $1.3 billion, acquiring it from Warburg Pincus when it was still known as Reorg. Permira has been planning a sale since last year. At around $3.5 billion, an LSEG deal would value Octus at roughly 2.7 times the level of Permira's 2022 entry — a lucrative exit at a moment when private equity firms are under pressure to return cash to their investors.

Data assets are drawing buyers again

The talks land in a strengthening market for financial-data deals. YipitData, backed by Carlyle Group, is exploring a sale that could value it at more than $2.5 billion, and Vista Equity Partners is exploring a sale of private markets data provider Allvue. Specialised credit intelligence of the kind Octus sells is hard to build from scratch: it depends on people and processes that track distressed companies through courts and filings, which is precisely what a buyer is paying for.

Shareholders are not cheering yet

LSEG shares dipped as much as 2.7% after the initial reporting of its interest, and Financial News reported the fall deepened to as much as 5.4% on Tuesday following news of the talks. The group is already under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which disclosed a stake in February, to improve its performance, and it launched a record 3 billion pound share buyback programme the same month.

The scepticism has a history. LSEG has pushed aggressively into financial data through acquisitions, most notably the $27 billion purchase of Refinitiv in 2021, and its Workspace platform competes as a cheaper alternative to Bloomberg's dominant terminal. More recently, exposure to artificial intelligence has weighed on the share price, as investors weigh whether AI will expand the value of its data products or erode them. A $3.5 billion purchase of hard-to-replicate credit content is, in part, a bet on the first outcome.

What happens next

What remains unknown is nearly everything that would make this a deal rather than a discussion: whether Permira accepts LSEG's price, whether another buyer outbids it, how LSEG would finance a purchase, and what regulators would make of a combination in financial data. Until a firm offer exists, the $3.5 billion figure is an expected valuation reported by people familiar with the talks, not agreed terms.

A note on sourcing: the talks, the expected valuation, Permira's sale process and the history of its 2022 purchase are reported by Reuters, read in full through a syndicated republication, with the confirmation also reported by Reuters on Tuesday. The statement language, the share-price fall of as much as 5.4%, the figure of more than 40,000 professionals and the Refinitiv and buyback context are reported by Financial News, read in full.