UPDATE
SELL-SIDE DATA
Goldman Sachs
banker charged
with insider
trading IHS Markit to acquire Ipreo, sell
MarkitSERV derivatives business
A vice president and senior
investment banker at Goldman
Sachs has been charged by the
US financial watchdog after
making $140,000 in profits
from an insider trading scheme.
The SEC alleged that Woojae
“Steve” Jung, who worked at
the bank’s New York and San
Francisco offices, used access
to sensitive information for
illicit trades.
A spokesperson for Goldman
Sachs told The TRADE: “We are
aware of the situation regard-
ing Mr Jung and are cooperating
with legal authorities on the
matter.”
Between 2015 and 2017, the
SEC alleged that Jung used an
account held in the name of
a friend living in South Korea
to evade detection by circum-
venting requirements to report
trades to Goldman Sachs and
use an approved broker.
According to the complaint,
Jung generated profits of
around $140,000 from trades in
securities of 12 different com-
panies prior to market-moving
announcements.
I
HS Markit has agreed to buy
rival data company Ipreo for
$1.9 billion, while initiating the
process to sell derivatives process-
ing business, MarkitSERV.
The firm will acquire Ipreo from
private equity funds managed by
Blackstone and Goldman Sachs
Merchant Banking Division, which
acquired Ipreo in 2014 for $975
million. The deal is expected to
close in the second half of the year
pending regulatory approval.
“Ipreo has an extremely strong
brand in financial markets and its
services are a logical and highly
complementary extension to our
financial services business and our
customer base,” said Lance Uggla,
CEO of IHS Markit.
“Across multiple product lines,
we will deliver a more comprehen-
sive service that will allow clients
to streamline their workflow and
make quicker and better decisions.
We are excited to expand our
footprint in the rapidly growing
alternatives sector.”
Ipreo is currently based in New
York and employs more than 1,700
people. Scott Ganeles, CEO of the
firm, commented that the acquisi-
tion marks the coming together of
“two strong organisations” to the
benefit of both firms’ clients.
“IHS Markit will be a tremendous
partner as we continue to build on
our position as a leading provider
to global capital markets partici-
pants,” Ganeles said.
IHS Markit added that following
a detailed review of the financial
services business as part of its cap-
ital allocation strategy, it has also
begun the process of selling off its
derivatives business, MarkitSERV.
MarkitSERV provides end-to-end
processing and workflow services
across over-the-counter (OTC)
derivatives asset classes, including
credit, equity, foreign exchange
(FX) and interest rates.
Issue 56 // TheTradeNews.com // 9