CHICAGO, March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar,
Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment
research, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire
Realpoint, LLC, a Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings
Organization (NRSRO) that specializes in structured finance. The
purchase price is $52 million,
subject to post-closing adjustments, and includes approximately
$42 million in cash and $10 million in restricted stock. Realpoint had
revenue of approximately $12 million
in 2009. Morningstar expects to complete the transaction in the
next few months.
"We believe there's strong demand for unbiased ratings and
research in the structured credit market, and we think the time is
ripe to bring more competition to this market. This acquisition
also builds on our recent entry into corporate credit ratings,"
said Joe Mansueto, chairman and
chief executive officer of Morningstar. "Realpoint has earned the
respect of investors, and has built a solid business by being a
reliable source for structured finance ratings and analysis.
Realpoint and Morningstar share a strong commitment to investors.
Together, we want to restore credibility to the credit ratings
business and be a positive force in rating structured
products."
Realpoint currently offers securities ratings, research,
surveillance services, and data to help institutional investors
identify credit risk in commercial mortgage-backed securities. More
than 225 institutional investment firms subscribe to Realpoint's
trusted ratings and analytics, including the majority of money
managers who invest in commercial mortgage-backed securities.
"Realpoint and Morningstar have highly complementary values and
are focused squarely on the best interests of investors," said
Robert Dobilas, chief executive
officer of Realpoint. "Becoming part of a well-respected firm like
Morningstar will give us the resources to expand our business on a
global level, with a company that is equally focused on
transparency and reliable ratings and analysis. At a time when
market uncertainty is unprecedented, Morningstar's acquisition of
Realpoint demonstrates a firm commitment to re-establishing faith
in structured finance ratings."
On Dec. 2, 2009, Morningstar
announced its entry into credit ratings and now publishes ratings
on approximately 150 of the largest U.S. companies. Its corporate
credit rating business and pending acquisition of Realpoint support
one of the company's growth strategies, which is to continue
building thought leadership in independent investment research.
Once the acquisition is completed, Realpoint will become a
business unit of Morningstar, reporting to Catherine Odelbo,
Morningstar's president of equity research. Over time, the company
will be rebranded under Morningstar. Dobilas will continue to run
the business, and the company will retain its offices in
Horsham, Pa.
About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent
investment research in North
America, Europe,
Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of
Internet, software, and print-based products and services for
individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar
provides data on approximately 350,000 investment offerings,
including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with
real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities,
indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in
addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. The company has
operations in 20 countries and minority ownership positions in
companies based in two other countries.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that
term is used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements are based on our current expectations about
future events or future financial performance. Forward-looking
statements by their nature address matters that are, to different
degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as "may," "could,"
"expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "predict," "potential," or "continue." These statements
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause
the events we discussed not to occur or to differ significantly
from what we expected. For us, these risks and uncertainties
include, among others, general industry conditions and competition,
including current global financial uncertainty; the impact of
market volatility on revenue from asset-based fees; damage to our
reputation resulting from claims made about possible conflicts of
interest; liability for any losses that result from an actual or
claimed breach of our fiduciary duties; financial services industry
consolidation; a prolonged outage of our database and network
facilities; challenges faced by our non-U.S. operations; and the
availability of free or low-cost investment information. A more
complete description of these risks and uncertainties can be found
in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2009. If any of these
risks and uncertainties materialize, our actual future results may
vary significantly from what we expected. We do not undertake to
update our forward-looking statements as a result of new
information or future events.
©2010 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.
MORN-C
Media Contacts:
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Margaret Kirch Cohen, 312-696-6383 or
margaret.cohen@morningstar.com
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Nadine Youssef, 312-696-6601 or
nadine.youssef@morningstar.com
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Investors: Investors may submit questions
to investors@morningstar.com
or by fax to
312-696-6009.
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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.