Markit Acquires Securities Lending Analytics Specialist Data Explorers

LONDON and NEW YORK, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

New acquisition expands Markit's footprint in equity and fixed income markets

Markit, a leading, global financial information services company, today announced the acquisition of Data Explorers, a leading provider of global securities lending data, from mid-market private equity firm Bowmark Capital.

Data Explorers' data set, which covers $12 trillion of securities in the lending programmes of over 20,000 institutional funds, provides a comprehensive view of short interest data and institutional fund activity across all market sectors.  It is used by beneficial owners, custodians, agent lenders, prime brokers and asset managers to help inform investment decisions, manage risk and produce independent benchmarks.

This acquisition comes as the new regulatory environment is changing the dynamics of the securities financing markets.  By combining Data Explorers' data set with its own products and services, Markit will be able to develop new offerings allowing clients to optimise their use of collateral.  Markit will also develop products for equity market participants in the ETF, dividend forecasting and quantitative research areas to complement its existing services.

Lance Uggla, CEO of Markit, said: "Markit's acquisition of Data Explorers represents a logical extension to our existing data, research and analytics for the equity markets and complements our extensive fixed income offering.  Our global distribution capabilities and robust technology infrastructure put us in a strong position to develop a compelling offering for our combined customer base globally."

Donal Smith, CEO of Data Explorers, said: "With support from Bowmark Capital, Data Explorers has achieved fantastic growth over the last four years.  We have more than doubled revenues and tripled profitability with new product innovation and expansion into Europe, North America and Asia.  Data Explorers is now the leading provider of data and analytics to the entire securities finance market from agent lenders through to hedge funds and our services are a great fit with those offered by Markit."

Data Explorers was established in 2002 and has offices in New York, London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong.  

Notes to Editors:

About Markit

Markit is a leading, global financial information services company with over 2,300 employees. The company provides independent data, valuations and trade processing across all asset classes in order to enhance transparency, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency.  Its client base includes the most significant institutional participants in the financial market place.  For more information, please see http://www.markit.com.    

About Data Explorers

Data Explorers (http://www.dataexplorers.com) is the leading provider of securities lending data, tracking short selling and institutional fund activity across all global market sectors. The company's analytics help clients to identify investment opportunities and manage risk. With content sourced directly from market participants including prime brokers, custodians, asset managers and hedge funds, Data Explorers provides a unique data set of more than 3 million intraday transactions, covering $12 trillion of securities in the lending programs of over 20,000 institutional funds.

For further information, please contact:
Caroline Lumley
Director, Corporate Communications
Markit
Telephone: +44(0)20-7260-2047
Email: caroline.lumley@markit.com

Alex Brog
Head of Media
Data Explorers
Telephone: +44(0)20-7264-7602
Email: alex.brog@dataexplorers.com