Thomson Financial could reach a deal to acquire electronic bond trading platform TradeWeb within four to six weeks, an informed source has told Dow Jones Newswires.
The dealer-owned fixed income network is understood to be in exclusive talks with Thomson after Reuters pulled out of negotiations. Thomson apparently outbid Reuters with a $400-$500 million plus earn-out offer says the newswire report.
The latest unconfirmed reports add to the market speculation that has swirled around TradeWeb since September, when rumours of a possible Reuters' bid first surfaced.
The online dealing platform counts 1400 of the largest buyside institutions as its customers. A buy-out by Thomson would put the firm toe-to-toe with Bloomberg in the fixed income markets.
TradeWeb's smaller rival MarketAxess last week filed for a $150 million IPO with US market regulators.