The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has agreed to acquire credit intelligence provider Octus for $3.535 billion in cash, as it expands its financial data business to strengthen its position against artificial intelligence-driven disruption.

The acquisition, announced on Thursday, marks LSEG’s largest takeover since its $27 billion purchase of Refinitiv in 2019 and is intended to broaden its offering in fixed-income and private credit markets. The transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals and conditions.

Octus, formerly known as Reorg, provides credit intelligence, data and workflow tools to banks, investors, law firms and advisory firms, with a particular focus on leveraged finance, private assets and companies experiencing financial distress.

LSEG chief executive David Schwimmer said the company would gain access to highly specialised proprietary information that large language models would struggle to replicate, adding that the acquisition would strengthen its credit data and analytics offering.

Under the ownership of private equity firm Permira, which acquired Octus in 2022 at a valuation of approximately $1.3 billion, the business more than tripled its annual recurring revenue over roughly four years. Octus now serves more than 40,000 subscribers globally, having nearly doubled the number of products it sells into credit markets.

Permira said Octus had developed into an AI-native platform during its ownership, combining proprietary credit information with automated analysis and workflow tools. In 2026 to date, the platform has completed more than four million automated classifications, one million structured data extractions and more than 250,000 content summaries.

Schwimmer said combining Octus’ data with LSEG’s existing analytics business would create a stronger proposition for customers across the fixed-income market. The transaction follows Tradeweb Markets, which is majority-owned by LSEG, announcing a deal to acquire bond-trading platform Trumid for almost $2 billion earlier this week.

LSEG has faced investor concerns that advances in artificial intelligence could disrupt its financial data business and put pressure on margins. Activist investor Elliott Management has also pushed the group to address its profitability relative to peers, while the company works to expand its use of AI and monetise proprietary data.

LSEG said the Octus acquisition would be financed through external debt and would be neutral to adjusted earnings in the first full year after completion, before contributing positively thereafter. Chief financial officer Michel-Alain Proch said Octus was expected to generate between $300 million and $320 million in revenue this year.

Permira said the disposal was its sixth strategic exit of 2026, following a period in which it distributed $13 billion to investors over the previous 12 months.

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