Key Takeaways
- • London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has agreed to acquire New York-based credit intelligence provider Octus for $3.535 billion in cash, funded through external debt and subject to regulatory approval, with closing expected in the first half of 2027.
- • Octus, founded in 2013 and employing more than 900 people, serves approximately 750 institutional customers and more than 40,000 individual users, and expects to generate more than $300 million in revenue in 2026 with an adjusted EBITDA margin of roughly 40%.
- • The deal expands LSEG's coverage of private credit, distressed debt and illiquid fixed income, a segment where LSEG has historically had a smaller presence among hedge funds and alternative asset managers.
- • LSEG expects the acquisition to contribute immediately to organic revenue growth in its Data & Analytics division, and to be neutral to adjusted EPS in the first full year after completion and accretive thereafter.
- • LSEG expects leverage at the end of 2027 to be near the upper end of its 1.5x to 2.5x target range, returning toward the middle of that range by the end of 2028.
Summary
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has agreed to acquire New York-based credit intelligence provider Octus for $3.535 billion in cash. The shares will be purchased from funds advised by private equity firm Permira and from Octus' management shareholders, including founder and CEO Kent Collier. LSEG plans to finance the transaction with external debt, and closing is expected in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Morgan Stanley is acting as lead financial adviser to LSEG, with Barclays as an additional financial adviser. Evercore and Goldman Sachs are advising Octus' shareholders.
Octus, founded in 2013, provides proprietary credit intelligence, financial data, analytics and workflow software to investment firms, banks, law firms and financial advisers. The company specializes in collecting and analyzing credit information that is difficult to obtain through conventional data providers, including private loan documentation, debt covenants, transaction terms and distressed credit information. Its teams convert this material into structured, searchable datasets integrated with research, portfolio management and analytical tools, delivered through its proprietary platform, an MCP connector and AI-enabled workflows. Octus employs more than 900 people and serves approximately 750 institutional customers and more than 40,000 individual users. It expects revenue above $300 million in 2026, with strong double-digit growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 40%, and has recorded double-digit compound annual revenue growth since 2022.
LSEG said the acquisition will combine Octus' private and illiquid credit capabilities with its existing fixed-income products, including IFR news, evaluated pricing, corporate actions data, Yield Book analytics and LPC loan information. The company intends to build an integrated offering covering the full credit investment lifecycle, from identifying transactions and assessing risk to monitoring investments and managing portfolios. LSEG also gains access to Octus' customer relationships among hedge funds and alternative asset managers. Following completion, Octus will become part of LSEG's Data & Analytics division, and Collier will continue to lead the business, reporting to Gianluca Biagini and Ron Lefferts, co-heads of LSEG Data & Analytics.
LSEG cites the growth of private credit, which it estimates at approximately $3.5 trillion, and a private markets data, workflow and access solutions market of $7 billion to $9 billion with double-digit growth expected. CEO David Schwimmer said combining Octus' data with LSEG's analytics business "creates a powerful offering for our customers, and further accelerates our growth." The transaction complements Tradeweb's planned acquisition of Trumid, which is intended to strengthen electronic credit trading. LSEG expects the deal to increase its previously stated outlook of approximately 7% organic subscription revenue growth in 2027, while maintaining medium-term guidance for roughly 150 basis points of cumulative underlying EBITDA margin improvement between 2027 and 2029. After the existing £3 billion share buyback, the Octus and Trumid acquisitions and potential additional buybacks of £1 billion to £1.5 billion, LSEG expects leverage near the upper end of its 1.5x to 2.5x target range at the end of 2027.
Octus, founded in 2013, provides proprietary credit intelligence, financial data, analytics and workflow software to investment firms, banks, law firms and financial advisers. The company specializes in collecting and analyzing credit information that is difficult to obtain through conventional data providers, including private loan documentation, debt covenants, transaction terms and distressed credit information. Its teams convert this material into structured, searchable datasets integrated with research, portfolio management and analytical tools, delivered through its proprietary platform, an MCP connector and AI-enabled workflows. Octus employs more than 900 people and serves approximately 750 institutional customers and more than 40,000 individual users. It expects revenue above $300 million in 2026, with strong double-digit growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 40%, and has recorded double-digit compound annual revenue growth since 2022.
LSEG said the acquisition will combine Octus' private and illiquid credit capabilities with its existing fixed-income products, including IFR news, evaluated pricing, corporate actions data, Yield Book analytics and LPC loan information. The company intends to build an integrated offering covering the full credit investment lifecycle, from identifying transactions and assessing risk to monitoring investments and managing portfolios. LSEG also gains access to Octus' customer relationships among hedge funds and alternative asset managers. Following completion, Octus will become part of LSEG's Data & Analytics division, and Collier will continue to lead the business, reporting to Gianluca Biagini and Ron Lefferts, co-heads of LSEG Data & Analytics.
LSEG cites the growth of private credit, which it estimates at approximately $3.5 trillion, and a private markets data, workflow and access solutions market of $7 billion to $9 billion with double-digit growth expected. CEO David Schwimmer said combining Octus' data with LSEG's analytics business "creates a powerful offering for our customers, and further accelerates our growth." The transaction complements Tradeweb's planned acquisition of Trumid, which is intended to strengthen electronic credit trading. LSEG expects the deal to increase its previously stated outlook of approximately 7% organic subscription revenue growth in 2027, while maintaining medium-term guidance for roughly 150 basis points of cumulative underlying EBITDA margin improvement between 2027 and 2029. After the existing £3 billion share buyback, the Octus and Trumid acquisitions and potential additional buybacks of £1 billion to £1.5 billion, LSEG expects leverage near the upper end of its 1.5x to 2.5x target range at the end of 2027.
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