Market data firm Interactive Data is to buy a 64% stake in Japanese data provider NTT Data Financial Corporation (NDF) for $20.2 million. Interactive Data expects the transaction to close by the end of this year, when the unit will be renamed Interactive Data Japan.
NDF provides securities pricing, reference data and related services to major financial institutions in Japan.
Interactive had a re-distribution relationship with NDF for 14 years, through which it provided Japanese financial institutions with end-of-day securities pricing, evaluations and reference data from international markets. The acquisition will give Interactive Data a direct presence in Japan for the first time, and is part of the firm’s strategy to expand in the Asia-Pacific region.
“It is important for Interactive Data to have a strong and direct presence in the world’s second-largest economy,” said Stuart Clark, president and chief executive officer of Interactive Data, in a statement. “We believe that acquiring NDF will enable Interactive Data to accelerate its growth in Japan and make progress toward our objective of being the first choice for financial market data and related services in that marketplace.”
Under the deal, NDF’s parent, NTT Data Corporation, will initially retain a 10% stake with the outstanding 26% owned by minority shareholders. But Interactive Data will gradually raise its stake to 100% over the coming years.