Morningstar Inks Deal To Buy PitchBook Data For $180 Million

Morningstar, a provider of independent investment research, announced Friday (Oct. 14) that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PitchBook Data, Inc. PitchBook, founded in 2007, delivers data, research and technology covering the breadth of the private capital markets, including venture capital, private equity and mergers and acquisitions.

In a press release, Morningstar said PitchBook will maintain its brand and identity and will continue to be led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer John Gabbert. Morningstar was an early investor in PitchBook and currently owns approximately 20 percent of PitchBook. The company expects to pay approximately $180 million (subject to working capital adjustments) for the remaining ownership interest in a transaction that values PitchBook at $225 million.

“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,” said Morningstar President Kunal Kapoor, who will become chief executive officer on Jan. 1. “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. Over time, we plan to add some of Morningstar’s proprietary research capabilities to this dataset, and we also see meaningful opportunities to expand the business globally.”

Gabbert said in the press release that joining forces with Morningstar will help it with its next stage of growth, including developing the next-generation version of its software platform, investing in sales and customer support functions and expanding its business in Europe and Asia. “As investors increasingly broaden their horizons beyond traditional public markets and investments, the multi-asset capabilities Morningstar is building will become even more valuable,” he said.