Blackstone-Led Consortium Completes Partnership Transaction with Thomson Reuters for Financial & Risk Business


New York, October 1, 2018 – A consortium led by Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) – together with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) and GIC – have completed the previously announced partnership transaction with Thomson Reuters (TSX / NYSE: TRI) for Thomson Reuters’ Financial & Risk (F&R) business. The Blackstone-led consortium now owns 55 percent of the equity in a new corporation created to hold the F&R business, and Thomson Reuters retains a 45 percent equity stake, at an overall valuation of US$20 billion. The Financial & Risk business is now known as Refinitiv.

Refinitiv is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, providing leading data and insights, trading platforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect communities of trading, investment, financial and corporate professionals. It also provides leading regulatory and risk management solutions to help customers anticipate and manage risk and compliance.

Martin Brand, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “We are pleased to close this landmark partnership transaction with Thomson Reuters. Blackstone is excited to invest in Refinitiv to pursue a business plan focused on accelerating growth through innovation, in partnership with Refinitiv’s customers.”

Eli Nagler, a Managing Director at Blackstone, added: “We are excited to complete this transaction and look forward to supporting Refinitiv’s growth and continued technology advancements in the years ahead.”

Through this investment and carve out of F&R by the Blackstone-led consortium, the new Refinitiv business expects to invest in a number of key areas to serve its customer base, which currently includes 40,000 institutions in over 190 countries. This includes further investing in content coverage, AI and analytics across its open data platforms Elektron and Eikon for buy-side, trading, wealth and banking customers. It also plans to invest in enhanced capabilities for its leading platforms for trading, as well as in indices, risk management, and fighting financial crime.

“This is a unique moment in our 160-year history as the Financial & Risk business of Thomson Reuters now steps forward as Refinitiv,” said David Craig, CEO of Refinitiv. “We firmly believe that efficient, transparent and trusted markets are good for all and that Refinitiv’s role is at the heart of this, providing access to clean and consistent data on a global scale. With the backing of our investors, Refinitiv will continue to deliver the critical data, insights and open technology infrastructure that the market has come to expect while driving progress for our customers across trading, risk, banking, wealth and investment management and in areas such as financial crime and ESG investment. We look forward to exciting times ahead.”

Canson Capital Partners, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan are acting as financial advisors to the Blackstone-led consortium, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal counsel to the Blackstone-led consortium. 

About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with approximately $440 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

About CPPIB
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits on behalf of 20 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, São Paulo and Sydney, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At June 30, 2018, the CPP Fund totalled C$366.6 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

About GIC
GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves. A disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. In private equity, GIC invests through funds as well as directly in companies, partnering with its fund managers and management teams to help world class businesses achieve their objectives. GIC has investments in over 40 countries and has been investing in emerging markets for more than two decades. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC employs over 1,500 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide. For more information on GIC, please visit www.gic.com.sg.

About Refinitiv
Refinitiv is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, serving over 40,000 institutions in over 190 countries. It provides leading data and insights, trading platforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect a thriving global financial markets community – driving performance in trading, investment, wealth management, regulatory compliance, market data management, enterprise risk and fighting financial crime. www.refinitiv.com

Blackstone Media Contact
Matt Anderson
Senior Vice President, Global Public Affairs
T: 212 390 2472
[email protected]

CPPIB Media Contact
Darryl Konynenbelt
Director, Global Media Relations
416-972-8389
[email protected]

GIC Media Contacts
Ms Mah Lay Choon
Senior Vice President, Communications
Tel: +65 6889 6841
E-mail: [email protected]

Ms Wendy Wong
Senior Vice President, Communications
Tel: +65 6889 6928
E-mail: [email protected]

Refinitiv Media Contacts
Kate Reid
Head of Communications
T: +44 20 7542 2215
[email protected]

Lem Brewster
Director, Communications
T: +1 646-223-5147
[email protected]