Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Blackstone (BX) Might Divest Thomson Reuters' FXall Unit

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX - Free Report) is mulling to divest Thomson Reuters Corp’s (TRI - Free Report) currency trading platform — FXall — after it closes the deal to acquire the latter’s financial and risk arm. The news was reported by Bloomberg.

FXall is a platform for foreign exchange trading and workflow solutions for asset managers, banks, corporate treasurers and hedge funds. Thomson Reuters had acquired FXall in 2012 for about $625 million.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that the unit can be divested for about $3 billion. However, no final decision has been taken so far.

Blackstone seeks to analyze the sale of FXall after acquiring 55% stake in Refinitiv, the new name for Thomson’s division, expected to be acquired by Oct 1, 2018. The deal was announced in January 2018 for nearly $17 billion with co-investors Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and GIC Pte, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.

Blackstone remains actively involved in undertaking inorganic growth strategies. On Sep 13, the company agreed to acquire Luminor through a corporate partnership with a consortium led by private equity funds managed by it. As part of the deal, the consortium will acquire a 60% majority stake for €1 billion.

Further, in July 2018, it agreed to acquire Averys, manufacturer of customized racking and storage solutions for warehouses, from Equistone Partners Europe. Blackstone expects Averys’ leading position in its markets to enable it to continue growing both organically and through M&As. 

Notably, Blackstone remains well poised to drive overall improvement. At its Investor Day held on Sep 21, the company said that it targets assets under management of more than $1 trillion in another eight years backed by its strong growth profile and focus on innovation.

Also, Blackstone continues to benefit from diversified products and revenue mix. Its robust fund-raising ability is expected to support profitability. However, consistently rising expenses deter bottom-line growth to some extent.

In six months’ time, the stock has gained 22.8% against 3.7% decline recorded by the industry.

Blackstone currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the same space are Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. and SEI Investments Company (SEIC - Free Report) . Both these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Waddell & Reed has been revised 1.9% upward for the current year, in the past 60 days. The company’s share price has jumped 9.2% in the past year.

SEI Investments has witnessed slight upward earnings estimates revision for 2018, in the past 60 days. Its share price has risen 1.2% in the past year.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Blackstone Inc. (BX) - free report >>

Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI) - free report >>

SEI Investments Company (SEIC) - free report >>