LSEG confirms talks on potential $3.5bn Octus acquisition, shares fall

(Sharecast News) - London Stock Exchange Group has confirmed it is in talks with private equity outfit Permira over a potential $3.5bn acquisition of credit intelligence and data provider Octus.

The exchange operator said no final agreement has been reached and there is no certainty that a transaction will proceed. LSEG said Octus' credit data, analytics and workflow products are highly complementary to its existing fixed income and private markets businesses, particularly in the fast-growing private credit sector.

LSEG added that any deal would be immediately accretive to revenue growth across its Data & Analytics division and the wider group. Any transaction would remain subject to regulatory approval. Shares in the exchange operator fell 5.66% on the news.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com