Thomson Reuters to Acquire Avox and Clarient

By LTP

Thomson Reuters has signed agreements to acquire Avox Limited and Clarient Global LLC. The businesses run by Avox and Clarient will be integrated into Thomson Reuters’ portfolio of risk management, compliance and reference data offerings after the closing of the deal, which is expected to take place by the end of first quarter. The financial aspects of the deal were not revealed.

A leading supplier of legal entity data, hierarchies and identifiers on financial entities globally, Avox is owned by the DTCC. Clarient is a leading global KYC and client reference data platform owned and used by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BNY Mellon, and State Street, among others.

The Clarient and Avox acquisitions represent another step forward by Thomson Reuters, who brought the first KYC-managed service to market three years ago (Org ID) and today serves 23 leading financial institutions worldwide with over 200,000 KYC records published to date, consistently onboarding or refreshing over 2,000 clients per month and helping customers accelerate client onboarding, comply with regulation, reduce costs and improve client experience.

“We are excited to sign these acquisitions, bringing with them significant continued commitment of a wide range of customers including the founder banks of Clarient,” said Steve Pulley, Managing Director of Risk Managed Services at Thomson Reuters. “The selection of Thomson Reuters by the founder banks and DTCC as the firm to lead the next wave of development in this exciting space reflects the progress we have made in our legal entity and KYC managed service franchise over the past three years, including the successful launch of the industry-first regional KYC service last year in Africa.”

Matt Stauffer, CEO of Clarient said, “Clarient and Avox have made a significant impact addressing the industry’s client reference data and lifecycle management requirements, reducing both cost and risk for our clients. We are proud of their successes and are confident that by integrating these businesses into Thomson Reuters already strong portfolio of risk management, compliance and reference data offerings, they will form a holistic solution that supports and accelerates the industry’s desire to mutualize client data solutions.”

About Thomson Reuters:

Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of news and information for professional markets. Thomson Reuters’ customers rely on it to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. Thomson Reuters’ shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, visit www.thomsonreuters.com.

About Avox:

Avox Limited, a subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), is a UK-based leading supplier of legal entity data on financial entities globally, that matches, enriches and maintains legal entity reference data for its clients, delivering corporate hierarchies, registered address information, industry sector codes and company identifiers. This approach ensures that clients can rely on the most accurate and timely data available to facilitate decision making and regulatory reporting. For more information, visit http://www.dtcc.com/data-services/entity-data-management/avox-data-services.

About Clarient:

Clarient Global LLC is a DTCC company founded with Barclays, BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and State Street. Clarient Entity Hub acts as a central hub for investment managers, hedge funds, and corporations to upload, securely store, maintain and permission use of legal entity level information, documentation and ownership information. It integrates technology and operational expertise to provide increased controls, standardization, data quality and transparency during client onboarding and ongoing client lifecycle activities. Clarient was established in response to the industry’s call to reduce operational complexity and to address regulatory requirements including Know Your Customer (KYC), Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), and Dodd-Frank requirements. For more information, visit www.clarientglobal.com.

First appeared at LTP