London Stock Exchange Group has confirmed it is in talks with Permira to buy Octus for about $3.5 billion. Octus provides intelligence, data and workflow tools for credit markets, with a strong position in private and illiquid credit. LSEG says the deal would immediately lift revenue growth in its data business. No final agreement has been reached, and any transaction would need regulatory approval.
What it means: The possible deal shows how valuable data on private credit has become. That market, loans provided by investment funds rather than banks, has grown fast in recent years but remains opaque. Whoever gathers reliable information on loan terms, restructurings and risks holds something investors pay a lot for. LSEG, which already owns the former Refinitiv, wants to be the main data provider in this space too. For Greece the link is practical. Private credit has started financing Greek companies, real estate and shipping projects, while large portfolios of Greek loans are run by servicers and foreign funds. Better data on this market can improve pricing and transparency, but it can also raise the cost of information for smaller players. For Greek fintechs working on credit risk analytics or lending platforms, the move confirms that specialised data can be a business model on its own. Concentration of the data market in a few groups, however, is something competition authorities will look at closely. Greek investors and lenders active in private credit should expect data costs to keep rising and may want to negotiate multi-year terms with their current providers while they still can.
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