Chicago-based investment research giant Morningstar is adding to data offerings with the announcement that it will acquire Pitchbook, a prominent Seattle-based venture capital database.
Morningstar, which currently owns a roughly 20% stake in the company, is paying about $180 million for the remaining shares in Pitchbook, a transaction that values the venture data service at $225 million.
Pitchbook and Morningstar's relationship began in 2009 when Morningstar invested $1.2 million in the company's Series A. Morningstar put another $10 million in Pitchbook during the company's Series B.
PitchBook will maintain its brand and will still be led by founder and CEO John Gabbert, Morningstar said.
"Both Morningstar and PitchBook share the goal of bringing transparency to the investment landscape, and PitchBook is in a great position to continue its strong growth trajectory as private markets and private companies are areas of rapidly growing investor interest," Morningstar President Kunal Kapoor said in a statement. Kapoor has served on PitchBook's board since 2012 and will become CEO of Morningstar in January. "Data has always been Morningstar's sweet spot, and we look forward to working with PitchBook to help investors and advisors better understand and navigate this evolving area of the market."
Kapoor said over time Morningstar will look to add some of its proprietary research capabilities to Pitchbook's dataset, and expand the business globally. Pitchbook has 300 employees, and did $31.1 million in revenue in the 12 months ending June 30, 2016, according to a news release.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Image via Morningstar
