GBAF Logo
Global Banking & Finance Awards® 2026 Nominations open, free to enter Nominate now →
LSEG's two decades of major deals, partnerships and strategic pivots - Finance news and analysis from Global Banking & Finance Review
Finance

LSEG's two decades of major deals, partnerships and strategic pivots

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review

Posted on February 11, 2026

4 min read

· Last updated: October 22, 2026

Add as preferred source on Google

A Two-Decade Timeline: LSEG’s Transformative Deals and Partnerships

Key Events and Milestones in LSEG’s Growth

Oct 22 (Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange Group on Thursday agreed to buy financial data firm Octus for about $3.54 billion, its biggest acquisition since the 2019 deal for Refinitiv as the group seeks to cement its stronghold in data and analytics.

Here is a timeline of key events at the British group, from its incorporation in 2007 to its various strategic moves:

2007-2010: Founding and Early Acquisitions

2007: Formation of LSEG

2007 LSEG as a corporate entity was founded in 2007,

when the London Stock Exchange, with a history

dating back more than 300 years, merged with Borsa

Italiana in a deal valued at 1.6 billion euros.

2009: Expansion into Technology and Trading Platforms

Millennium IT Acquisition

2009 LSEG acquires Millennium IT, a Sri Lanka-based

technology solutions provider involved in the

global capital markets industry, for $30 million.

Turquoise Stake Acquisition

2009  LSEG buys 60% stake in pan-European equities

trading platform Turquoise, in partnership with

leading global investment banks.

2013-2014: Strengthening Clearing and Index Capabilities

2013: LCH Clearnet Majority Stake

2013  LSEG completes the purchase of a majority stake in

global multi-asset class clearing house LCH

Clearnet.

2014: Frank Russell Company Acquisition

2014  LSEG completes the deal for US-based financial

services provider Frank Russell Company for $2.7

billion, whose assets include the Russell Indexes

business.

2016-2017: Merger Attempts and Further Acquisitions

2016: Deutsche Börse Merger Attempt

2016 LSEG and Deutsche Börse AG agrees on the terms of

a recommended all-share merger deal worth 29

billion euros in March to create UK TopCo.

2017: Acquisitions and Corporate Challenges

Mergent Acquisition

2017 LSEG completes the acquisition of Mergent, a

U.S.-based provider of business and financial

information on public and private companies.

The Yield Book and Citi Fixed Income Indices

2017 LSEG completes the deal for fixed income analytics

platform and index business The Yield Book and

Citi Fixed Income Indices, from Citigroup for $685

million.

Regulatory and Boardroom Events

2017 TopCo merger attempt is blocked by EU Competition

Regulator.

2017 Activist hedge fund, The Children's Investment

Fund Management, fails to oust chairman Donald

Brydon, after accusing the board of forcing CEO

Xavier Rolet out.

2018-2019: Strategic Investments and Major Acquisitions

2018: Shareholding Changes

2018 Hedge fund TCI cuts stake in LSEG.

2018 LSEG increases majority shareholding in LCH Group.

2019: Euroclear and Refinitiv Deals

2019 LSEG acquires a 4.92% stake in Euroclear in deal

valued 278.5 million euros.

2019 LSEG acquires ESG fixed income data provider

Beyond Ratings (now LSEG Sovereign Sustainability

Solutions).

2019 LSEG confirms plans to acquire data and analytics

company Refinitiv for $27 billion.

2020-2022: Divestments, Technology, and New Partnerships

2020: Borsa Italiana Sale

2020 LSEG agrees to sell Milan's Borsa Italiana stock

exchange to Euronext for 4.3 billion euros. The

sale was dependent on the Refinitiv transaction

going through.

2021-2022: Acquisitions and Tech Collaborations

Quantile Technologies Acquisition

2021  LSEG agrees to acquire Quantile Technologies, a

provider of portfolio, margin and capital

optimisation and compression services, for up to

$362 million.

TORA and MayStreet Acquisitions

2022  LSEG announces plans to acquire trading technology

provider TORA for $325 million.

2022 LSEG signs an agreement to acquire MayStreet, a

market data solutions provider.

Microsoft Partnership and Acadia Acquisition

2022 Microsoft agrees to purchase nearly 4% equity

stake in LSEG through the acquisition of shares

from the Blackstone/Thomson Reuters Consortium.

2022 LSEG acquires multi-asset post-trade services

provider Acadia for about $700 million, according

to the data analytics group.

2025-2026: AI Partnerships and Future Plans

2025: OpenAI Partnership

2025 LSEG announces partnership with OpenAI that allows

users to access Financial Analytics content,

real-time market data, research and news from

within ChatGPT.

2026: Activist Engagement and 24/7 Trading Plans

February Activist investor Elliott builds a stake in LSEG

2026  and engages with the company to drive performance,

calling for more "value enhancing" actions.

July London Stock Exchange announces plans to launch

2026 round-the-clock trading in 2027 and says it had

"constructive" dialogue with Elliott.

Key Takeaways

  • The Octus acquisition significantly strengthens LSEG’s footprint across public and private credit markets, offering enhanced data, intelligence, and workflow integration with its existing fixed‑income analytics suite (investegate.co.uk).
  • This marks LSEG’s most substantial deal since the Refinitiv acquisition in January 2021 (~$27 billion), underscoring a continued strategic focus on expanding its Data & Analytics capabilities (investegate.co.uk).
  • LSEG has built momentum over two decades through targeted acquisitions—MillenniumIT (2009), LCH stake (2013), Russell (2014), Yield Book and Mergent (2017), Beyond Ratings (2019), Refinitiv (2021)—culminating now in the Octus and pending Trumid deals to dominate fixed‑income data markets (lseg.com)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most recent major acquisition by LSEG?
In 2026, LSEG agreed to acquire Octus, a financial data group, for about $3.5 billion.
When did LSEG acquire Refinitiv and for how much?
LSEG confirmed plans to acquire Refinitiv in 2019 for around $27 billion.
What significant partnership did LSEG announce with OpenAI?
In 2025, LSEG announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate Financial Analytics and market data into ChatGPT.
What are some key technology acquisitions by LSEG?
Key technology acquisitions include Millennium IT (2009), Mergent (2017), Quantile Technologies (2021), and TORA (2022).
Which activist investors have recently been involved with LSEG?
In 2026, Elliott built a stake in LSEG and engaged with the company to drive performance improvements.

Tags

Related Articles

More from Finance

Explore more articles in the Finance category