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Transactions

December 2002
Morristown, New Jersey
has been acquired by
Denver, Colorado
a division of


Background

Husband-and-wife team of David Farrington and Carrie Thomas combined their Wall Street experience and started Capital Access International (CAI), a company focused exclusively on the information needs of the global fixed income community. Later, they accepted growth capital from a venture capital firm.  Over time, Dave and Carrie and their team grew CAI into the industry’s leading provider of institutional investor profile information and bond ownership analysis to thousands of fixed income professionals on both the buy- and sell-side. In the classic vein of entrepreneurs the world over, David and Carrie reached a point where they were ready to move on to other challenges and enjoy the fruits of their labor – and their venture partner was ready for liquidity. The time was right: they had built a company that was worth millions on paper, but they had limited liquidity and the thought of raising the additional capital needed to expand CAI into a global enterprise held little appeal for them. Dave and Carrie concluded that they should see if there was a suitable strategic partner that could help them take the company to the next level.  They engaged M&A to provide strategic and financial advice.



Overview

On December 2, 2002 CAI was acquired by Lipper, Inc a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters plc. Lipper provides mutual fund information, analytical tools, and commentary to asset managers, fund companies, financial intermediaries, traditional media, websites, and individual investors. The transaction allowed sellers to get liquidity and strengthened Lipper’s data on fixed income securities globally. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

M&A Role

M&A was the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Capital Access International.

Press

Reuters Acquires Capital Access International

December 02, 2002

Reuters Lipper Unit acquires Capital Access International

Building Strength in Fixed-Income

Thousands of Bond-Industry Professionals Rely on Core eMaxx Product

2 December 2002

Reuters, the global information, news and technology group, and Lipper, the leading fund analysis and research firm, announced today that Lipper has acquired the operations of Capital Access International, which provides institutional investor profile information and bond ownership analysis to thousands of fixed income professionals. Capital Access will be integrated within Lipper Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters. The deal was an all-cash transaction for a maximum of $6.35 million, depending on the performance of the Capital Access business and the absence of any unexpected liabilities.

"Through acquiring Capital Access, we have joined Lipper’s equity expertise and Capital Access' fixed income perspectives, creating a total-capitalization view of institutional ownership," said Michael Peace, Chief Executive Officer of Lipper. "Additionally, Lipper can now benchmark and categorize mutual funds globally on peer asset allocation across both asset classes."

"We are extraordinarily excited to be part of the Reuters Group," said David Farrington, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Access. "Merging the pan-buyside coverage and fixed-income proficiency of Capital Access with the mutual fund expertise, equities market skills, vast data resources and global reach of Lipper and Reuters will create a powerhouse of services for both buyside and sellside professionals. Lipper's commitment to be the world leader in institutional holdings products and services was a leading factor in our decision to join this exciting team and a giant step in line with our ambition to develop a global asset information exchange."

Lipper and its corporate parent Reuters will leverage the Capital Access data, analysis, know-how and expertise in a variety of ways. eMAXX will now be offered to an expanded group of potential users across the Lipper and Reuters customer bases, including both traditional sell-side market segments around the world and new markets such as fund management firms, corporate treasury executives, and investor relations professionals. Users of Reuters 3000Xtra will be offered Capital Access' products and services.

"The addition of Capital Access bond holdings and holder-profile data provides our users with a vehicle for developing new contacts and business opportunities across our global community of users," said Bill Goldy, Managing Director of Fixed Income for Reuters. "This enhancement will also help our users manage relationships more efficiently."

Lipper will also add Capital Access' fixed income holdings to its mutual fund analysis, to help fund investors better understand their true investment risk and return.

Before recent market corrections, fund investors were content to look no further than the performance figures," Peace added. "Today, many more are quite rightly asking where that performance came from and taking a look at where their mutual fund or 401(k) is really invested. Timely, accurate equity and fixed-income holdings provide that insight."

Key senior management and most of the firm's staff have joined Lipper in connection with the transaction. Capital Access Chairman and CEO David Farrington has been named Executive Vice President, Institutional Holdings at Lipper. In addition, Capital Access clients will continue to be served by their current account executives, who are now Lipper employees. The Capital Access corporate brand is being replaced by the Lipper brand, while eMAXX and other products and services will join Lipper's product roster and retain their current names. Lipper and certain of its affiliates acquired the operations, assets, and business of Capital Access International.

Marlin & Associates (M&A) initiated this transaction and acted as exclusive advisor to Capital Access International. M&A is a specialized investment banking advisory and consulting firm providing transaction advice and services to middle-market firms in the media, technology, information and business services sectors. The firm is based in New York City and Washington DC.

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