Nasdaq Buys Thomson Reuters Units for $390m

Thomson Reuters has announced the sale of its corporate management arm, which includes custom media analysis and measurement, to Nasdaq OMX Group, the company which runs the US tech stock exchange of the same name, as well as eight exchanges in Europe.

The $390m deal should complete in the first half of 2013, subject to the usual approvals, and will be funded by mostly by cash, with the rest from Nasdaq's revolving credit facility. Thomson Reuters' Public Relations, Investor Relations and Multimedia Solutions businesses will change hands.

Nasdaq says it will add the acquired units to its corporate solutions division to improve its market intelligence and communications services for listing and corporate clients. The group's non-transaction revenue base, including technology and data revenue, already accounts for more than 70 percent of its total - a strategic plus given declining trading volumes with the economic crisis and uncertainty. The new deal will add more than 7,000 clients in more than 60 countries.

Thomson Reuters has said it is restructuring to focus on and expand its core business - and the sold units are a small part of its overall portfolio (c.2%).

Web site: www.nasdaq.com .