Financial analytics vendor FactSet Research Systems is to acquire a copy of the Thomson Fundamentals database from Thomson Reuters.
The sale - which is expected to close in Q2 2008 - is designed to meet regulatory requirements laid down by the European Commission and the US Department of Justice in connection with the merger agreement between Thomson and Reuters.
It will include copies of the database, source data, collection software and documentation, collection training materials, as well as the potential for FactSet to acquire certain customer contracts for Thomson Fundamentals and to hire certain key employees connected with the database and related assets.
Under the agreement, Thomson Reuters retains full ownership of the original Fundamentals database and will continue to operate the asset on behalf of customers who choose not to transfer their contracts to FactSet. The deal also stipulates an 18-month transitional services provision including consulting and support services to give FactSet a full understanding of the structure and content of the database, and regular updates to the database, provided on the same schedule as those sent to Thomson's clients.
The cash consideration to be paid is based in part on revenues transferred to FactSet from consenting datafeed customers.
FactSet, which has operated as a distributor of the database since 1991, says it will continue to redistribute the Thomson Fundamentals and Reuters Fundamentals databases to its clients as well as databases from S&P Compustat, Toyo Keizai in Japan and Aspect Huntley in Australia.