Mark-It acquires Totem

Mark-It Partners, the UK-based credit pricing information company, has agreed to purchase its London-based rival Totem Market Valuations, a provider of over-the-counter derivatives market price information.

Totem, a seven-year-old company, provides an in-depth monthly analysis of prices for derivatives on a range of asset classes, including credit, equities, foreign exchange, bonds and commodities. Mark-It is a much younger company, founded in 2001 in response to the rapid growth in the credit derivatives industry. Its focus is therefore on credit, with daily, less detailed pricing information delivered to clients.

The buy-out will create a minimal overlap because of the different styles of information delivery employed by the two companies, according to Tim Barker, chief executive of Totem. The two companies will continue to operate in the same way and deliver the same services for clients, under the Mark-It name, while looking for opportunities to expand the unified company together, he added.

The combined group will have a client base of more than 160 corporates. Barker will join the Mark-It management team as an executive vice-president on completion of the deal, expected to be the end of the month. He declined to comment on the financial details of the buy-out.