MarkitHomebulletCareersbulletContact UsbulletSite Mapbullet
Default Message
 

Markit Acquires International Index Company and Agrees to Acquire CDS IndexCo

Benchmark Credit Derivative and Cash Indices To Be Owned and Administered By Single Company

Frankfurt, London and New York – Markit Group Limited (“Markit”), the leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing, today announced it has acquired International Index Company Limited (“IIC”) and has also agreed to acquire CDS IndexCo LLC (“CDS IndexCo”) . Markit and CDS IndexCo expect the transaction to complete by the end of the year.

IIC owns the iTraxx Europe and iTraxx Asia credit derivative indices as well as the global family of iBoxx bond indices. CDS IndexCo owns the CDX credit derivative indices and the synthetic structured finance and loan indices ABX.HE, CMBX and LCDX.

The iTraxx and CDX credit derivative index families, which resulted from the merger of dealer-owned indices in 2004, are credited with revolutionising the credit derivative markets. They have increased the transparency and liquidity of these markets, and provide investors with an efficient, rules-based tool to gain or hedge exposure to the underlying credit markets.

The iBoxx bond index family, which launched in 2001, was the first comprehensive suite of independent, transparent, multiple-contributor priced bond indices.

Lance Uggla, Chief Executive Officer of Markit, said: “The acquisition of IIC and CDS IndexCo will put us at the very heart of the global credit and rates markets. By bringing the indices together, we will create the next generation of credit benchmarks and stimulate innovation in trading across the entire fixed income market.”

The members of IIC and CDS IndexCo believe that Markit’s ownership will enhance product development and deliver considerable benefits to the financial markets.


IIC is owned by ABN AMRO, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Börse, Dresdner Kleinwort, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

CDS IndexCo is owned by ABN AMRO, Bank of America, Barclays Capital, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wachovia.

Fergus Lynch, Managing Director, Global Head of Index Development at Deutsche Bank and Chairman of IIC, added: “The development of best of breed indices has been the crucial cornerstone to the explosive growth in index trading. Combining these foundations with Markit’s proven development capabilities will enable index trading to reach even greater heights.”

Brad Levy, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and acting Chairman of CDS IndexCo, stated: “The company has worked with Markit for the past three years in many capacities. They possess the infrastructure to manage the indices efficiently, and their knowledge of the market and products is unparalleled. Markit is well-prepared and positioned to take on full ownership of the indices, and I’m confident that they will continue to be an engine of innovation for the industry going forward.”

The official names of the indices will remain unchanged but will be known as Markit indices. As such, the IIC indices will be called Markit iTraxx and Markit iBoxx with immediate effect. The CDS IndexCo indices will be known as Markit ABX.HE, Markit CDX, Markit LCDX, etc. once the acquisition has been completed.

Markit’s new index division will be headed by Stephan Flagel who joined Markit in June this year from Barclays Capital where he was Chief Operating Officer for global research. Flagel will report to Niall Cameron, a member of Markit’s Executive Management team and Head of Equities and Indices.

IIC was advised by Deutsche Bank in the transaction.

- Ends -

For further information, please contact:
Markit
Teresa Chick
Director, Corporate Communications
Tel: +1 212 931 4900
Email: teresa.chick@markit.com

Caroline Lumley
Associate, Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 20 7260 2047
Email: caroline.lumley@markit.com

About Markit
Markit Group Limited is the leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing to the global financial and commodities markets. The company receives daily data contributions from 90 dealing firms, and its services are used by almost 1,000 institutions to enhance trading operations, reduce risk and manage compliance.

About International Index Company
International Index Company (IIC) was established in 2001 and is the leading independent provider of transparent, rules-based, multiple contributor bond and CDS indices. IIC manages and administers the iBoxx bond indices and the iTraxx credit derivative indices, which have rapidly become the standard benchmarks in the growing credit markets. Over 35 major international financial institutions are licensed by IIC as iTraxx market makers. IIC’s iBoxx cash bond indices have been adopted as market standard by investors and institutions around the world.

iTraxx and iBoxx indices and products based upon the indices have won awards from International Financing Review, International Fund Investment, Risk and Structured Finance International. IIC is owned by ABN AMRO, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Börse, Dresdner Kleinwort, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

About CDS IndexCo
CDS IndexCo is a consortium of 16 investment banks which are licensed as market makers in the ABX, CDX, CMBX and LCDX Indices. The market makers include: ABN AMRO, Bank of America, Barclays Capital, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wachovia.

Click here to download a list of Markit Indices (pdf)