CITIC Capital-led consortium to buy Euromoney data division

The private equity firm’s partner on the deal is Caixin Global, a Chinese macroeconomic, finance and business intelligence provider affiliated with Caixin Media, a leading domestic news provider. The company wants to expand its financial data footprint with a view to offering a combination of news and financial information services.

The Euromoney asset in question – the Global Marketing Intelligence Division (GMID) – comprises two main units, CEIC and EMIS, which provide global financial information and data from macro and micro perspectives, respectively. The products are available in 15 languages and widely used by financial institutions, consulting firms, multinationals, and research groups.

Euromoney announced last September that it would explore strategic options for GMID after receiving interest from potential buyers. The division recorded revenue of GBP41.5 million ($57.5 million) for the 12 months ended March 2017, up from GBP37.1 million the previous year. Adjusted operating profit rose from GBP10.1 million to GBP11.9 million over the same period.

Approximately 60% of the GBP428.4 million in revenue Euromoney generated in 2017 came from subscriptions and content – excluding GMID – while advertising, sponsorship and delegate sales contributed just under 40% between them. The company’s products include Institutional Investor, Euromoney, Global Capital, Metal Bulletin and Insurance Insider.

The deal is expected to close by the end of April, after which the new owners will focus on designing customized data products that match clients’ workflows, according to a statement. This will involve expanding CEIC and EMIS’ mainly PC-based offerings to cover a range of interfaces, among other initiatives. The existing management team will remain in place.

This is CITIC’s fourth announced cross-border transaction in three months, following the agreements to purchase English language training provider Wall Street English, New Zealand-based skincare products and fragrances business Trilogy International, and cosmetics industry packaging supplier Axilone.

GMID also continues a trend of corporate carve-outs executed in partnership with other investors. Wall Street English is being divested by Pearson to CITIC and Baring Private Equity Asia, and Chinese corporate Humanwell Healthcare supported the acquisition of Ansell’s sexual health division last year. Meanwhile, the purchase of a majority stake in the McDonald’s China and Hong Kong business – announced in January 2017 – was a joint deal with CITIC Group and The Carlyle Group.

The latest investment comes from CITIC Capital China Partners III, which is expected to close at $2 billion. The private equity firm has already closed the US dollar-denominated portion at the hard cap of $1.57 billion and is seeking a further RMB3 billion ($439 million) in renminbi. CITIC previously pursued separate China and international strategies but the teams have been combined for this fund.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Europe
• Buyouts
• Media
• Technology
• China
• CITIC Capital