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Transactions

April 2007
New York, New York
has been acquired by
Bedford, Massachusetts


Background

Founded in 1986, the New York City-based Xcitek market data division is the leading provider of corporate actions information relating to equities, warrants, corporate bonds, government, agency and municipal bonds and other financial instruments issued by US and Canadian entities.  Xcitek’s founders knew that bottom-line portfolio performance can be influenced and anticipated by announcements of corporate actions such as splits, liquidations, mergers, divestitures, acquisitions, capital changes, bankruptcies, law suits, reorganizations, name and domicile changes and distributions.  The data describing these events is voluminous, complex, hard to find, inconsistent and manually intensive to interpret and process.  Xcitek’s founders conceived designed and built a service to automatically collect, compile, process and distribute this information.  As a result, the company’s services came to be used by over 1,600 financial institutions worldwide, via electronic data feeds, proprietary web-based offerings and an extensive network of redistributors.  The Company earned numerous industry awards.

Prior to engaging M&A, the owners had been approached by several strategic and financial firms, who were interested in acquiring, investing or partnering with the Company.  The owners turned down all such approaches.  But, when one of the founders died unexpectedly, the other owners paused to reflect.  Another of the founders had already retired and a third was approaching retirement.  The owners decided it was time to explore their strategic alternatives.  They engaged M&A to advise them.



Overview

M&A helped Xcitek’s owners conduct a disciplined process that led to discussions with more than 15 potential partners and ultimately generated interest from five.  Eight months after engaging M&A, the owners agreed to sell their market data division to Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE:IDC), one of the world’s leading providers of financial market data, analytics and related services.

In addition to financial factors, Xcitek’s owners took note of their long redistribution relationship with Interactive Data and IDC’s successful record of providing reference data and other services to facilitate the timely processing of transactions and addressing regulatory and reporting requirements of clients.  The owners also considered IDC’s expressed respect for the Xcitek employees and its intention to leave much of Xcitek’s structure and people intact, and in their current location.

M&A Role

Marlin & Associates New York LLC (“M&A”) initiated this transaction, managed the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Xcitek LLC.

Press

Interactive Data to Acquire Xcitek Market Data

April 04, 2007

Interactive Data to Acquire Xcitek Market Data

Transaction Will Further Fortify Interactive Data's Leadership Position in Reference Data Services by Adding Xcitek's World-class Corporate Actions Collection, Content and Delivery Capabilities

Bedford, MA (April 4, 2007) Interactive Data Corporation (IDC) , a leading provider of financial market data, analytics and related services to financial institutions, active traders and individual investors, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the assets comprising the market data division of Xcitek LLC, as well as the market data assets of its affiliate Xcitax LLC. The transaction is expected to be completed within the next several weeks, contingent upon customary closing conditions.

Xcitek's market data business, which is based in New York City, provides a broad range of North American corporate actions data, including reorganization information, as well as valuable cost basis and class action data. Xcitek provides this content to over 2,000 financial institutions worldwide through a variety of delivery platforms including electronic datafeed services, proprietary web-based offerings and an extensive network of redistributors. Xcitek's offerings have earned numerous industry awards and accolades for accuracy, timeliness, coverage and delivery reliability.

This acquisition represents an important element in Interactive Data's strategy to expand its reference data services and support enterprise-wide financial applications. Reference data content has become a mission-critical component used to ensure the timely processing of transactions, and help address regulatory and reporting requirements. Institutions are increasingly centralizing data administration and utilizing reference data content to support risk management and compliance applications. The addition of Xcitek Market Data's corporate actions data covering North American securities will enhance the corporate actions content that Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data collects, processes and delivers to thousands of financial institutions and redistribution partners around the world. In addition, the Xcitek market data team will bring expertise and experience in helping Interactive Data's customers address challenging corporate actions issues across front, middle and back office environments.

"Interactive Data continues to see growing interest from institutional customers for reference data and related services, which are used in both departmental and enterprise-wide applications that span the front, middle and back office," stated Stuart Clark, president and chief executive officer of Interactive Data. "Corporate actions for equity and fixed income securities are a critical component of these services and the use of this content ranges from populating security master files, account statements and other workflow-intensive applications to supporting research activities and risk management applications. With the addition of Xcitek Market Data, we believe we will be better positioned to directly collect and deliver a broader range of mission-critical content, address our customers' emerging enterprise-wide content and application requirements, and to further advance our efforts to automate key data collection and delivery processes."

Interactive Data has worked with Xcitek for many years, with each company redistributing select sets of each others' data to clients. Upon completion of the transaction, these assets will be integrated into the Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data business.

Clark continued, "We see Xcitek's market data business as an excellent fit for our Pricing and Reference Data business in terms of content, capability and culture. We have an extensive history of collaboration with the Xcitek team and have long admired their domain knowledge of corporate actions workflow across the enterprise. Within our Pricing and Reference Data business, we have historically delivered our own corporate actions offerings for non-North American securities while working with Xcitek to augment the corporate actions content on North American securities that we provide to customers. We also view Xcitek's cost basis and class action services as innovative, highly complementary offerings which are in the early stages of adoption by clients. By bringing Xcitek into our organization, we believe that Interactive Data can extend its global leadership in corporate actions and related information with a broader range of compelling content, a more diverse set of delivery platforms, and additional technical expertise and thought leadership."

Joe Carvalhido, chief executive officer of Xcitek, said, "We have been a partner with Interactive Data for more than 20 years. During that period, we have come to know and respect Interactive Data and its products, people and culture. Going forward, we have every confidence that joining with Interactive Data is not only the right next step for our people, but also that, together, we can bring more opportunities, service and value to customers."

Assuming the transaction closes within the next several weeks, Interactive Data anticipates that the transaction will be cash flow positive but earnings neutral in 2007, and, through a combination of planned revenue growth and operational synergies, accretive to earnings in 2008.

The acquisition does not include XcitekSolutionsPlus, LLC (XSP), a software company affiliated with Xcitek LLC nor does it include Xcitek Consulting Services Inc. (XCS), both of which will continue to operate as independent entities. Marlin & Associates New York LLC ("M&A") was the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Xcitek LLC.  

About Xcitek Market Data
Xcitek's market data offerings include Corporate Actions, Municipal Actions, Cost Basis, Class Actions, Securities Payments, and other financial data. We serve over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, directly and through our distributors. Our information impacts millions of investors through brokerage, trust and custody statements. Ranked #1 for more than ten consecutive years by The Summit Group, Xcitek has led all other providers in its category in such areas as data accuracy, data timeliness, coverage, and delivery reliability. User-friendly, flexible, and affordable, Xcitek's web-based solutions deliver time-sensitive and critical information straight to the desk-top.

About Interactive Data Corporation
Interactive Data Corporation (IDC) is a leading global provider of financial market data, analytics and related services to financial institutions, active traders and individual investors. The Company's businesses supply time-sensitive pricing, evaluations and reference data for more than 3.5 million securities traded around the world, including hard-to-value instruments. Many of the world's best-known financial service and software companies subscribe to the Company's services in support of their trading, analysis, portfolio management and valuation activities. Through its businesses, Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data, Interactive Data Real-Time Services, Interactive Data Fixed Income Analytics, and eSignal, the Company has approximately 2,200 employees in offices located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The Company is headquartered in Bedford, Mass. Pearson plc (PSO), an international media company, whose businesses include the Financial Times Group, Pearson Education, and the Penguin Group, owns approximately 62 percent of the outstanding common stock of Interactive Data Corporation.

Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data provides global securities pricing, evaluations and reference data designed to support financial institutions' and investment funds' pricing activities, securities operations, research and portfolio management. Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data collects, edits, maintains and delivers data on more than 3.5 million securities, including daily evaluations for approximately 2.5 million fixed income and international equity issues. Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data specializes in 'hard-to-get' information from emerging markets and evaluates many 'hard-to value' instruments. Pricing, evaluations and reference data are provided in the U.S. through Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data, Inc. and internationally through Interactive Data (Europe) Ltd. and Interactive Data (Australia) Pty Ltd.

For more information about Interactive Data Corporation and its businesses, please visit www.interactivedata.com.

About Marlin & Associates
Founded in 2002, Marlin & Associates is a boutique investment banking and strategic consulting firm focused on providing highly strategic and specialized, transaction-related services to U.S. and international middle-market firms engaged in technology, information, on-line media and business-services. The firm is based in New York City with a Washington, DC office.

Marlin & Associates' professionals have advised on over 200 successfully completed transactions in the technology and information services sector.

Recently, the firm was recognized by The M&A Advisor for leading the “Financial Technology Deal of the Year”. Marlin received the award for its role as the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Brainpower N.V., in its sale to Bloomberg L.P. The M&A Advisor award winners were chosen based on the importance of the transaction, unique deal characteristics, transaction difficulty, and overall impact on the industry. Marlin & Associates was nominated for (and a finalist) for awards in three different categories.

In addition to Xcitek and Brainpower, Marlin & Associates was the exclusive advisor to numerous technology-related firms that recently made strategic moves including:

  • Hugin ASA of Oslo, Norway, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Euronext NV of Amsterdam, Netherlands (ENXTPA: NXT).
  • Triple Point Technology of Westport, Connecticut, which Marlin & Associates advised on the sale of a majority interest to ABRY Partners, one of the most experienced and successful private equity firms in North America.
  • Cameron Systems (Vic) of Sydney, Australia, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Orc Software of Stockholm, Sweden (STKM: ORC).
  • Derivative Solutions, of Chicago, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS).
  • Beauchamp Financial Technology Ltd. of London, England, which Marlin and Associates advised on its sale to Linedata Services of Paris, France (PARIS: LIN).
  • Global Securities Information, of Washington D.C., which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to the Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC).
  • Interactive Technologies, Inc. of Summit, NJ, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV).
  • europrospectus.com, of East Sussex, UK, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS).

For more information go to www.MarlinLLC.com
Contact: Michael Maxworthy at +1 646 495-5141
or Contact@MarlinLLC.com

Interactive Data Corporation Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Federal securities laws, and is subject to the safe-harbor created by such Act and laws. Forward-looking statements include our statements discussing future financial conditions, results or projections, including statements relating to (i) the anticipated impact of the Xcitek Market Data acquisition on our business, including any impact on our earnings and cash flow, (ii) the anticipated timing of the closing, (iii) our plans to expand the services we offer to Xcitek Market Data, Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data or Interactive Data customers, (iv) our ability to penetrate new markets for our services as a result of the acquisition and accomplish our other strategic objectives, (v) our ability to facilitate better use of our content by our customers, and (vi) our plans to combine Xcitek Market Data and Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data's products and services to achieve cost-savings synergies and revenue growth. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include: the acquisition may not close on a timely basis or at all; our ability to successfully integrate the Xcitek Market Data business; and our ability to retain key employees of Xcitek Market Data. Other factors include, but are not limited to: (i) the presence of competitors with greater financial resources than ours and their strategic response to our services and products; (ii) a possible decline in activity levels in the global securities markets; (iii) new offerings by competitors or new technologies that could cause our products or services to become less competitive or obsolete; and (iv) other factors identified in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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