Fitch Group To Buy CreditSights

Fitch Group, a London and New York-based provider of financial information services owned by Hearst, will acquire CreditSights, Inc., a New York-based provider of independent credit research to the global financial community.

The amount of the deal – whose closing is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions – was not disclosed.

The company is being acquired from the founders, along with other shareholders and investors.

Through the acquisition of CreditSights, Fitch Group will complement its portfolio by adding a provider of relative value credit research to a suite of products that includes legal analyses and fixed-income news offered by Fitch Solutions Leveraged Finance Intelligence through its Covenant Review, Capital Structure, LevFin Insights and PacerMonitor brands, as well as the credit ratings and research from Fitch Ratings.

Following the closing, CreditSights will become part of Fitch Group’s Fitch Solutions division, as it further expands its research coverage of investment grade, leveraged and distressed debt markets. Fitch Solutions is a provider of credit and macro intelligence, and the primary partner to Fitch Ratings for the distribution of its ratings-related content.

Founded in 2000 and led by Peter Petas, CEO, CreditSights is a provider of subscription-based, independent credit research, risk tools and comprehensive market insights to finance professionals around the world. Its core research product provides market-relevant research. Covering more than 1,200 issuers, CreditSights helps financial market participants make informed decisions on investments, asset allocation, trading and risk management. The company has offices in London, Singapore and Denver, with over 200 full-time employees.

Led by Paul Taylor, President and CEO, Fitch Group is a global leader in financial information services with operations in more than 30 countries. Fitch Group is comprised of:

  • Fitch Solutions,
  • Fitch Ratings, a global leader in credit ratings and research; and
  • Fitch Learning, a preeminent training and professional development firm. 

Hearst is a global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19% of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); more than 300 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men’s Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital entertainment companies such as Complex Networks.

FinSMEs

14/01/2020