October 14, 2014

Thomson Reuters Introduces New Merger Arbitrage Dataset to Support Event-Driven Hedge Fund Managers

Allows asset managers to find new ways to generate alpha from Thomson Reuters time-series database covering the evolution of individual M&A transactions over more than 30 years

New York - Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced the launch of a new mergers and acquisitions (M&A) dataset to support event-driven hedge fund managers. Thomson Reuters M&A data provides the global asset management and alternative investment management industries with comprehensive coverage of M&A activity worldwide.

Thomson Reuters M&A data incorporates over 900,000 M&A events announced since the late 1970s, currently available to clients through a flexible suite of datafeed offerings. This comprehensive M&A transaction coverage is now accompanied by a new event history companion dataset that features time series data through the evolution of the deal. The multidimensional view of the dates, valuations and events, from announcement to completion, empowers advanced quantitative modeling of completion probability, timeframes and risks over time while delivering competitive insight to asset managers and alternative asset managers worldwide.

Thomson Reuters M&A data allows hedge fund managers to:

  • Track a deal’s evolution and examine events leading up to deal consummation or withdrawal
  • Gain a holistic view of current and historical deals against a fully normalized dataset dating back to the 1970s
  • Isolate innovative predictive signals from a vast dataset of hundreds of M&A terms and conditions
  • Combine robust and granular data feeds with current deal updates and other data in their systems to support algorithm back-testing

“We have reached an inflection point in the world of M&A activity and I am delighted that we are able to provide the hedge fund industry with a much needed tool to advance their merger arbitrage strategies,” said Ranjit Tinaikar, managing director, Advisory & Investment Management, Thomson Reuters. “Thomson Reuters M&A data further demonstrates our commitment to improve our customers’ workflow by bringing together the content & capabilities our customers need to make more informed investment decisions and gain a competitive advantage.”

The Thomson Reuters M&A database tracks changes in economic ownership at ultimate parent level in ongoing business. All deals involving a purchase of at least a 5% stake (or a 3% stake for disclosed value deals of at least US$1 million) are tracked, including transactions which began as rumors and “seeking buyer” transactions (including auctions and bankruptcy/receivership sales).

Thomson Reuters M&A is part of the Deals database, the industry’s most comprehensive and historically extensive information source. Thomson Reuters Deals data allows clients to monitor deal flow, identify market trends and gain insight into competitive positioning within any region, asset class or industry vertical at highly flexible levels of granularity.

For more information about Thomson Reuters Deals, visit our Deal Making Intelligence website, where we publish industry analytics for deals, private equity and ownership data: http://dmi.thomsonreuters.com.

Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.