London Stock Exchange Group Enters Definitive Agreement to Acquire Credit Data Firm Octus for US$3.535 Billion in Cash

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has agreed to acquire credit data firm Octus for US$3.535 billion in cash, marking a major strategic expansion into the booming private credit market. The transaction is designed to fortify LSEG’s fixed income business by bridging a critical gap, adding comprehensive private, illiquid, and distressed credit data to a portfolio that has historically focused predominantly on liquid credit products.

Under the terms of the agreement, LSEG is purchasing Octus from funds advised by private equity firm Permira, alongside Octus’s management team, which includes company founder Kent Collier. The deal represents a significant financial commitment by LSEG, which plans to fund the acquisition through external debt. According to financial projections shared by the exchange group, the transaction is expected to have a neutral impact on adjusted earnings per share in the first full year following completion, with earnings accretion anticipated thereafter.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Both companies anticipate that the acquisition will officially close during the first half of 2027. Once the regulatory review process concludes and the deal is finalized, Octus will be fully integrated into LSEG’s expansive Data & Analytics division, where founder Kent Collier will remain at the helm to continue leading the business.

Founded by Kent Collier in New York in 2013, Octus has grown into a formidable player in the financial intelligence sector. The firm currently employs a workforce of more than 900 people and serves approximately 750 corporate and institutional customers, translating to a user base of over 40,000 professionals. The core value proposition of Octus lies in its ability to parse complex, hard-to-access credit documentation—such as intricate financial covenants, deal terms, and legal agreements—and transform them into structured, easily searchable data for financial institutions.

Financial metrics released alongside the acquisition announcement underscore the robust economic health of the credit data firm. LSEG expects Octus to generate well over US$300 million in revenue for the 2026 financial year, accompanied by a healthy adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 40 percent. These figures highlight the commercial viability and scaling success of the platform that Collier built over more than a decade of operations.

Beyond its core data capabilities, Octus brings a highly coveted client base to LSEG. The firm maintains a particularly strong presence among hedge funds and alternative investment managers—a segment of the financial services industry where LSEG acknowledges its own market reach has historically been somewhat limited. By acquiring Octus, LSEG instantly gains deeper penetration into these influential alternative asset management circles.

This strategic alignment comes at a time when the private credit industry is experiencing unprecedented expansion. According to industry estimates cited by LSEG, the global private credit market is currently valued at an impressive US$3.5 trillion. As traditional bank lending has evolved and alternative credit markets have surged, institutional investors have increasingly demanded granular, reliable data on private, illiquid, and distressed debt instruments to make informed capital allocation decisions.

LSEG intends to leverage its vast global footprint and distribution network to cross-sell Octus’s specialized products to its worldwide customer base. Furthermore, the group plans to combine Octus’s proprietary datasets with its existing analytical tools and infrastructure to create a comprehensive suite of fixed income solutions.

Commenting on the multi-billion-dollar transaction, David Schwimmer, Chief Executive Officer at LSEG, emphasized the strategic rationale driving the acquisition. Combining Octus’s leading proprietary data and intelligence with LSEG’s established data and analytics business creates a powerful offering for our customers, and further accelerates our growth, Schwimmer noted, framing the deal as a natural extension of the exchange group’s long-term commercial strategy.

From the perspective of the acquired firm, leadership expressed enthusiasm for the immense scale and operational leverage that joining a major global exchange group will provide. Kent Collier, Founder and CEO at Octus, highlighted the synergies between the two organizations. 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, Collier stated.

As the path to completion unfolds over the coming months, pending regulatory green lights, market observers will be watching closely to see how LSEG integrates the sprawling data operations of Octus into its broader corporate architecture. With private credit continuing to capture a growing share of global financial activity, the acquisition positions LSEG to capture a significantly larger share of the value chain supporting alternative investment managers and fixed income professionals worldwide.