Markit Acquires Communicator

Credit data provider Markit last week bought US-based Communicator, Inc., a provider of technology and data services, for an undisclosed sum.

Lance Uggla, chief executive of Markit, says the services of the two companies are "complementary and enable us to gain a competitive edge in the market." In particular, he points to Markit's content, derivatives pricing and portfolio valuations and Communicator's "high quality derivatives" trade processing.

Uggla says the acquisition gives Markit additional content more quickly than sourcing it from scratch.

There are also geographical benefits, Uggla says, as Markit is headquartered in London while Communicator is based in the US. The acquisition "gives us speed to market, faster growth and a leg-up in the US with regard to leadership in this space," Uggla says.

Leo Schlinkert, president and CEO of Communicator, says the market is growing quickly and Communicator wanted a deal that would help accelerate growth.

Schlinkert and senior Communicator staff will join Markit's executive team, reporting to Uggla.

Schlinkert says there are no plans for any layoffs of Communicator's 35 staff. In fact, he says the company is looking to hire additional employees. The merged company will have dual headquarters in London and White Plains, NY, he says.

Communicator will continue to develop and support its existing products, and Schlinkert predicts that its customer base will grow as the two companies sell to each other's clients.

Besides the OTC derivatives processing service, Communicator also offers identity management and content aggregation services; secure messaging; a secure way to exchange compliance documentation between the buy and sell side; and fixed income research and data from nine banks via Bond.Hub.

Schlinkert says the latter service provides research, indications of interest and financial models. "It's used by portfolio managers…[at] almost every major buy-side firm," he says.