Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of Paris-based Pricing Partners formalises a working relationship between the companies, adding derivatives evaluated pricing services and risk analytics, global reach, expertise and an expansion opportunity to Thomson Reuters Pricing Services.
The acquisition was closed last week and while no financial details were disclosed, Thomson Reuters has confirmed that Pricing Partners will become part of the pricing service within its Enterprise Content business and that 24 Pricing Partners’ staff will join the pricing team. Debra Walton, managing director and head of Enterprise Content at Thomson Reuters, says: “Pricing Partners has a particularly strong brand and customer base in Europe, with a growing presence in Asia. Our intention is to preserve the brand attributes while bringing the brand under the Thomson Reuters umbrella over time.”
The companies have been working together since 2011, with Thomson Reuters using Pricing Partners’ Price-it proprietary financial library, which covers interest rates, equity, inflation, credit, foreign exchange, commodities, life insurance and hybrid products, to provide pricing services through its proprietary delivery platform, Thomson Reuters DataScope.
Walton says Thomson Reuters was not looking to acquire in the pricing services market and no more acquisitions are planned. Instead, the acquisition of Pricing Partners, which was founded in 2005, is seen as an opportunity to expand on the companies’ relationship. She explains: “Pricing Partners excels in two areas: the valuation service business; and analytics software and libraries. The valuation service is driving significant growth in the company and we want to leverage the company’s talented, multi-lingual evaluations staff to augment our global evaluations capabilities. Over time, we will also look to integrate Pricing Partners’ analytics capability into our DataScope and Eikon platforms.”
Recognising evaluated pricing as a strategic growth opportunity for the company and critical to meeting the regulatory reporting requirements of its customers, Thomson Reuters plans to move as quickly as possible to integrate Pricing Partners’ pricing into its service and deliver it via DataScope. As well as expanding the Thomson Reuters Pricing Service, which has delivered evaluated pricing via DataScope since 2001 and includes over 85 evaluators around the world, Pricing Partners’ localised capabilities in France and across Europe will strengthen the company’s global position. Its capabilities in derivatives pricing will support the pricing of illiquid and hard-to-price assets.
Commenting on the global reach Pricing Partners adds to Thomson Reuters through its headquarters in Paris and offices in London, Singapore and Hong Kong, Walton says: “Europe and Asia represent a significant opportunity as these markets increasingly require independent evaluated pricing. Access to local data, customers and language capabilities is critical and Pricing Partners has been identified as a good strategic fit to satisfy this demand.” She concludes: “Most importantly, the addition of Pricing Partners will bring talent, knowledge and expertise to Thomson Reuters.”
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