UK business information outfit Informa has acquired MMS, a provider of real-time market commentary and analysis for the fixed income and foreign exchange markets, for $37 million (£23.7m) cash.
News of the deal comes as Informa reports a ten per cent fall-off in revenue to £135.6 million and nine per cent drop in operating profits to £18.2 million for the six-months to end-June 2003. The group, which punts a mix of conferences and subscription and advertising-led publications, says the acquisition forms part of a strategy to acquire value-added subscription services. Subscription businesses currently account for 33% of group revenues and around 43% of group operating profit.
Founded in 1974, MMS claims more than 20,000 subscribers worldwide for its screen-based Insight products, which are delivered via third-party vendors - including Reuters, Bloomberg and Moneyline Telerate - and across its own globalmarkets.com Web site. It was sold last year for £13.5 million by previous owners Standard & Poor's to the newly-formed company MMS Group, established by a combination of institutional funds advised by Alchemy Partners, the Halifax Bank of Scotland, plus senior MMS managers, led by president Mickey Arora. The company, which employs 190 staff in major financial centres across the globe, has been breaking-even on an annualised basis.
Informa says it will consolidate the operations of MMS with its wholly-owned subsidiary MCM which provides similar products and was acquired in 2001. Implementation of the integration plan is estimated to take 4-6 months at a cost of up to $10m, with a view to realising savings of $5 million per year.