媒体巨擘汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)周二宣布，将收购总部位于伦敦、专为各类企业提供金融犯罪和腐败防范信息的World-Check。出售方是2007年4月收购World-Check的私募股权公司Spectrum Equity Investors和HarbourVest Partners。Spectrum持有更多股份。

    收购交易的财务条款未予披露。但据一位熟悉交易的人士称，售价在5.30亿美元左右。对于这两家私募股权公司而言，这意味着约3.5倍的回报。

    现在尚不清楚收购是以现金、还是股票(抑或现金加股票的)方式进行，但我猜测可能是现金，依据是汤森路透首席执行官汤姆•格罗瑟的下述声明：

    “企业风险管理是我们客户的一个重要考量，”格罗瑟表示，“我很高兴我们抓住了这个好机会，将近期根据全球发展战略处置的部分资产所获收入进行再投资。”

    汤森路透将利用World-Check扩张其治理、风险和合规业务，World-Check的首席执行官丹•皮克将留任管理职位。

    Media giant Thomson Reuters (TRI) today announced that it will acquire World-Check, a London-based provider of financial crime and corruption prevention information for businesses. The sellers are private equity firms Spectrum Equity Investors and HarbourVest Partners, which acquired World-Check in April 2007. Spectrum holds the larger piece.

    No financial terms were disclosed, but a source familiar with the deal says the sale price was around $530 million. That represents around a 3.5x return for the PE firms.

    No word yet on if the deal is in cash or stock (or a combination), but I'd guess cash based on the following statement from Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer:

    "Managing risk across the enterprise is a key concern for our customers," said Thomas H. Glocer, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters. "I'm pleased we have secured this excellent opportunity to reinvest some of the proceeds of our recently announced dispositions as we pursue our global growth strategy."

    Thomson Reuters will use World-Check to expand its Governance, Risk & Compliance business, with World-Check CEO Dan Peak staying on in an executive capacity.