Credit indices: Markit consolidates credit derivative index firms

The data and valuations company plans new indices, dreams of a global credit derivative index

"The acquisitions will take the index companies to the next level. It’s not just about acquiring them, but bringing the two together and globalizing them around best practices" Niall Cameron, Markit

Markit Group has completed the purchase of International Index Company (IIC) and plans to wrap up a deal bringing CDS IndexCo under its control by the year-end. The consolidation of the two index providers behind the prolifically used credit derivative indices, which have revolutionized that market, will result in the launch of new indices related to credit derivatives as well as other asset classes. Once both deals are complete, Markit will own IIC’s iTraxx Europe and iTraxx Asia credit derivatives indices as well as the iBoxx bond indices. They will also gain control of CDS IndexCo’s CDX credit derivative indices and the synthetic structured finance and loan indices ABX.HE, CMBX and LCDX. Already the indices’ administrator, Markit will be able to streamline their operation once combined.