LSEG to Acquire Octus for $3.5 Billion to Dominate Private Credit Data

LSEG is set to acquire credit intelligence provider Octus for $3.535 billion, a move that significantly bolsters its position in the rapidly expanding private credit and illiquid markets. For fintech professionals, this acquisition signals a major consolidation of public and private fixed-income data, creating a unified platform for risk assessment and deal sourcing.

What was announced

LSEG has reached an agreement to acquire Octus from funds advised by Permira and the company’s management, including founder Kent Collier, for a cash consideration of $3.535 billion. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2027 subject to regulatory approval, will see Octus integrated into LSEG’s Data & Analytics division. Kent Collier will continue to lead the Octus business, reporting to Gianluca Biagini and Ron Lefferts, the Co-Heads of Data & Analytics at LSEG.

Octus specializes in providing intelligence, fundamental data, and analytics for private, illiquid, and distressed credit markets. Its proprietary offering involves sourcing and structuring hard-to-access credit documentation, such as covenants and deal terms, into searchable data. This information is delivered via a purpose-built platform, an MCP connector, or AI-driven workflows. Currently, the firm serves over 750 customers and 40,000 individual users, including investment banks, advisory firms, and buy-side institutions.

Financially, Octus has maintained double-digit compound revenue growth since 2022. By 2026, the company is projected to generate more than $300 million in revenue, maintaining an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 40%. The acquisition aims to combine these capabilities with LSEG’s existing fixed-income analytics and distribution networks to provide a comprehensive view of the credit lifecycle across the liquidity spectrum.

"Combining Octus’ leading proprietary data and intelligence with LSEG’s data and analytics business creates a powerful offering for our customers, and further accelerates our growth. Acquiring Octus enables LSEG to deliver best-in-class credit data, intelligence and workflows, across the liquidity spectrum, to a broader range of customers. LSEG’s existing data and analytics capabilities, alongside the acquisition of Trumid announced by Tradeweb and now the acquisition of Octus, position LSEG as a global leader in fixed income to partner with our customers throughout the trade lifecycle. I look forward to partnering with Kent and the team at Octus to continue to drive future growth."

David Schwimmer, CEO, LSEG

The companies involved

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is a global financial markets infrastructure and data provider. While historically known for its exchange operations, the group has evolved into a dominant force in financial data and analytics, operating across the entire trade lifecycle. The group provides indices, data, and post-trade services to a global client base, with its Data & Analytics division serving as a core pillar of its modern strategy. This division focuses on high-growth segments such as fixed income and private markets.

Octus, founded in 2013 by Kent Collier, has established itself as a specialist in the often opaque corners of the credit market. Headquartered in New York City with a global workforce of over 900 employees, the firm focuses on the convergence of public and private credit. It operates in a market segment for private markets data and workflow solutions estimated to be worth between $7 billion and $9 billion. Before this acquisition, Octus was backed by the global investment firm Permira and its own management team.

What FF News has reported before

LSEG has recently focused on deepening its technological capabilities and market reach through strategic partnerships. In September 2026, FF News reported that LSEG and Snowflake Expand AI Data Partnership to Transform Financial Workflows, aiming to integrate trusted financial data with cloud-based AI. The group also recently scaled its digital assets strategy by acting as a super validator on the Canton Network. Additionally, FF News covered findings from LSEG’s FTSE Russell, noting that direct indexing is becoming a core capability for wealth managers as advisor adoption surges.

What this means

This acquisition is a definitive land grab in the $3.5 trillion private credit market. As public and private markets converge, the traditional silos of financial data are breaking down. LSEG is betting heavily that the next frontier of alpha lies in "hard-to-access" data—information that cannot be easily standardized without the specialized approach Octus employs. This move puts significant pressure on smaller, niche data providers who lack the distribution scale of a global giant. It also raises questions about the future of data independence in the credit space, as LSEG moves closer to becoming an all-encompassing utility for the fixed-income trade lifecycle.