London Stock Exchange Group Agrees to Acquire Octus for $3.54 Billion

The London Stock Exchange Group has reached an agreement to acquire financial data provider Octus for approximately $3.54 billion to bolster its data analytics capabilities. The transaction marks LSEG's largest acquisition since its $27 billion purchase of Refinitiv in 2019. LSEG has faced mounting pressure since February from activist investor Elliott, which pushed for structural changes and margin improvements as artificial intelligence threatens traditional data distribution models. Alongside the acquisition, LSEG raised its 2026 revenue outlook, forecasting organic total income growth of at least 8% at constant currencies. LSEG shares entered the week down roughly 2% for 2026 and remain 28% below their February 2025 peak over sustained margin fears. "Combining Octus' leading proprietary data and intelligence with LSEG's data and analytics business creates a powerful offering for our customers, and further accelerates our growth." — David Schwimmer