London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has entered into an agreement to acquire Octus, a provider of credit intelligence, data, analytics, and workflow solutions, for $3.535 billion in cash. The acquisition will be made from funds advised by Permira and Octus’ management, including founder and CEO Kent Collier.
The transaction is intended to significantly expand LSEG’s position in public and private credit markets by combining Octus’ proprietary credit intelligence and specialized workflow technology with LSEG’s existing fixed income data, analytics, and global distribution capabilities.
Founded in 2013 by Collier, Octus serves financial institutions and professional investors operating across private, illiquid, and distressed credit markets. The New York-headquartered company employs more than 900 professionals and serves approximately 750 customers and more than 40,000 individual users worldwide.
Its customer base includes hedge funds, alternative asset managers, investment banks, law firms, and financial advisory firms that rely on specialized credit information to evaluate investment opportunities, assess risks, structure transactions, and manage portfolios.
Octus has developed a proprietary data platform covering the credit investment lifecycle, with particular expertise in complex and illiquid debt markets.
The company sources difficult-to-access financial documentation, including credit agreements, debt covenants, and transaction terms, and converts that information into structured, searchable data.
Its offerings combine proprietary intelligence, fundamental financial information, expert analysis, and workflow tools that help customers evaluate borrowers, monitor credit developments, and manage investment portfolios.
Users can access Octus’ information through its proprietary platform, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector, and AI-enabled workflows.
LSEG plans to integrate these capabilities with its existing fixed income products, including International Financing Review, Yield Book, Loan Pricing Corporation, and its evaluated pricing and corporate actions services.
The combination is intended to create a more comprehensive source of information and analytical tools spanning public and private debt markets.
LSEG already maintains a substantial presence in liquid credit markets, while Octus specializes in private, distressed, and other less liquid credit instruments. Integrating the two platforms will expand the range of investment data available to customers throughout the credit lifecycle.
Octus is expected to generate more than $300 million in revenue during 2026, with strong double-digit revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 40%.
The company has maintained double-digit compound annual revenue growth since 2022, supported by growing institutional demand for specialized credit intelligence and analytical capabilities.
LSEG sees additional opportunities for expansion as public and private credit markets become increasingly interconnected.
The private credit industry has expanded to an estimated $3.5 trillion, while the market for private markets data, workflow, and access solutions is estimated at approximately $7 billion to $9 billion.
LSEG expects that market to grow at a double-digit rate, driven by rising private market assets under management and demand for timely information, proprietary analytics, and more sophisticated investment technology.
The acquisition is also intended to strengthen LSEG’s relationships with hedge funds and alternative investment managers, customer segments where the company has historically had a smaller presence.
LSEG plans to distribute Octus’ credit intelligence and workflow products through its global customer network while introducing its own products to Octus’ established institutional client base.
The company also expects to develop integrated solutions combining Octus’ proprietary information with LSEG Workspace, Loan Pricing Corporation, Yield Book, Pricing and Reference Services, and Tradeweb.
These offerings are intended to provide customers with more consistent credit data, valuation capabilities, and portfolio management tools across fragmented public and private markets.
The transaction complements broader investments in LSEG’s fixed income business, including Tradeweb’s planned acquisition of Trumid.
Together, these investments are intended to strengthen LSEG’s position across credit data, analytics, trading infrastructure, and investment workflows.
Following completion, Octus will become part of LSEG’s Data & Analytics division. Collier will continue leading the Octus business and report to Gianluca Biagini and Ron Lefferts, Co-Heads of Data & Analytics.
LSEG expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to organic revenue growth within its Data & Analytics business. The transaction is also expected to contribute to the group’s targeted organic subscription revenue growth of approximately 7% in 2027.
The company expects the acquisition to be neutral to adjusted earnings per share during the first full year following completion and accretive thereafter.
LSEG plans to finance the acquisition through external debt. Its medium-term guidance for underlying EBITDA margin expansion remains unchanged, with an anticipated cumulative improvement of approximately 150 basis points between 2027 and 2029 from the 2026 baseline.
Taking into account the Octus acquisition, Tradeweb’s planned Trumid acquisition, expected cash generation, and shareholder repurchases, LSEG anticipates leverage at the end of 2027 near the upper end of its targeted range of 1.5 to 2.5 times.
The company expects leverage to return toward the middle of that range by the end of 2028.
The acquisition is expected to close during the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
Morgan Stanley & Co. International served as lead financial advisor to LSEG, while Barclays Capital acted as an additional financial advisor. Evercore and Goldman Sachs advised Octus’ shareholders.
The acquisition represents a significant expansion of LSEG’s financial information services business, positioning the company to provide more integrated intelligence and technology across public and private credit markets.
KEY QUOTES:
“Combining Octus’ leading proprietary data and intelligence with LSEG’s data and analytics business creates a powerful offering for our customers, and further accelerates our growth. Acquiring Octus enables LSEG to deliver best-in-class credit data, intelligence and workflows, across the liquidity spectrum, to a broader range of customers. LSEG’s existing data and analytics capabilities, alongside the acquisition of Trumid announced by Tradeweb and now the acquisition of Octus, position LSEG as a global leader in fixed income to partner with our customers throughout the trade lifecycle. I look forward to partnering with Kent and the team at Octus to continue to drive future growth.”
David Schwimmer, CEO Of LSEG
“I’m excited by the prospect and opportunity of Octus becoming part of LSEG. Octus’ customer-first mindset and drive to deliver the absolute best products to our clients is a natural cultural fit with LSEG. Joining LSEG will pair our data, intelligence and workflows with global distribution and fixed income depth: a combination that provides tremendous opportunity for further growth and expansion.”
Kent Collier, Founder And CEO Of Octus
