FT Partners Advises on Sale of TheMarkets.com
Overview of Transaction
- On September 21, 2010, TheMarkets.com announced its cash sale of substantially all of its assets to Capital IQ, a Standard & Poor's ("S&P") business for $300 mm(1)
- S&P is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP)
- TheMarkets.com is a leading, subscription-based provider of third-party equity and fixed-income research, economic and strategy reports, sector and industry overviews, financial estimates and related information tools and models to institutional investors around the globe
- The transaction brings together Capital IQ and TheMarkets.com, two of the fastest growing entities in the financial information services sector
- The combination will enable Capital IQ to better serve and grow its buy-side customer base globally
- Represents a highly successful outcome for TheMarkets.com's founders and owners, a consortium of the largest and most prestigious global investment banks
- FT Partners was the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to TheMarkets.com and its Board of Directors and guided the Company through an evaluation of a variety of strategic alternatives and eventual selection of Capital IQ as a long-term partner
- This is another significant transaction, among many, that highlights FT Partners' unparalleled ability to help companies in the Securities & Capital Markets Technology sector find the best strategic partners at premium valuations
- FT Partners continues to be the independent advisor of choice for Wall Street consortium-backed firms and this transaction further demonstrates FT Partners' ability to attract and manage these complex shareholder structures
(1) As reported by The Wall Street Journal, "Capital IQ Buys Rival Firm", September 21, 2010.