Markit merger - Fintech disruption and data

Spring has sprung and Markit, a firm that touches every corner of the capital market, starts this snowy spring morning in NY, with news of a mega-merger. Markit has grown by offering solutions, data and analytics to much of the capital market value chain as well as through multiple acquisitions, so it is interesting to see it now joining with IHS, to become part of a multi-industry vertical firm. According to the press release, IHS (NYSE: IHS) and Markit (NASDAQ: MRKT) will combine in an all-share merger of equals. The combined company’s reported results for fiscal year 2015 include approximately: $3.3 billion in revenue. It will be interesting to see how Markit's three divisions will fit into the multi-verticals that IHS serves. Markit’s three divisions: Information, which has been a source of pricing and reference data, with analytics across asset classes; Processing, has been a critical source of efficiencies and automation to the capital markets, particularly in OTC derivatives, FX, and the loan space; and, Solutions, has been a source of managed solutions. Like many people in the financial industry, I was surprised by the announcement of this deal. On a strategic basis, I have thought of Markit combining with a larger market data provider, adding additional data and valuation tools to that firm, or feeling in key data or automation gaps. Or, other market participants across the capital market transactional space which have been recent, and eager buyers, of data companies. They have been eager to own not only the data, for the creation of IP, for the bigdata analytics, for the potential data tools in the electronification of trading, but for the recurring and stable revenue model. One recent example, is the ICE acquisition of IDC. Whether any of these other types of deals were considered, I don't know. Perhaps, the deal speaks to the challenges that are seen in the capital market as the industry continues to find its way in the post-crisis world. The lack of future clarity, as financial services firms digest the implications of FinTech disruptors, along with the realities of today's regulations and capital restrictions, drove the key decision makers to expanding to other industry verticals. However, after two days of mulling the deal over: Markit has sat in a unique place within the financial services, since its inception in credit market data thirteen years ago. The firm has morphed into not only providing critical data, analytics and valuation tools, across asset classes, for a broad swath of the capital markets, but has been instrumental in bringing much needed automation and efficiencies to some of the thorniest challenges that the industry has faced within processing OTC rates, credit, FX, and the syndicated loan space, with its processing division, as well as a variety of services and software within the solutions division. Markit's growth has always been based on a strategy of hiring key talent, directly from the industry, purposeful partnerships, all combined with aggressive acquisition. This combination has allowed them to create holistic middle and back office solutions, with engaged buy-in from key partners. Both Markit and IHS sit on vast resources, of the true currency of our time, data. Markit in the capital markets and IHS in energy as well as other industries. We can envision creating indices in energy products, such as Markit has done in credit. We can also imagine creation of products like ETFs and smart equity across the industries where these two companies sit. They can also create research and analytics across the spectrum of industries where the combined company competes. I can see what each firm sees in the other.