London Stock Exchange acquires Refinitv in $27 billion deal

LONDON – The London Stock Exchange Group says it has agreed to acquire financial data and analytics company Refinitiv for $27 billion in stock and assumed debt in a deal that will help the exchange compete with the likes of Bloomberg as demand for real-time market information expands.

LSE says the current owners of Refinitiv, including investment firm Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, will receive 37% of the group’s stock, valued at $14.5 billion. The stock exchange will also take on $12.5 billion of Refinitiv debt.

The deal marks the stock exchange’s latest attempt to grow after failed attempts to buy other exchanges such as Deutsche Borse.

LSE chief executive David Schwimmer says the deal will “transform our position as a leading global Financial Markets Infrastructure group.”