Deal data platform PitchBook Data is being acquired by investment research provider Morningstar for $180m.
Seattle-based PitchBook’s platform offers users data and research for private markets, including venture capital, private equity and M&A activity.
The company was founded in 2007 and says it will retain its brand and identity with founder and CEO John Gabbert remaining at the helm.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year.
Morningstar had previously invested $1.2m and $10m in PitchBook’s respective Series A and Series B rounds, giving it’s a 20% stake in the company.
Counting Morningstar’s existing stake, PitchBook’s total valuation comes to $225m.
Gabbert said, “I reached out to Morningstar as a potential investor seven years ago because I admired the company’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovative products.
“Joining forces with Morningstar will help us enter into our next stage of growth, including developing the next-generation version of our award-winning data and software platform, investing in our world-class sales and customer support functions, and expanding our business in Europe and Asia.”
Morning Star president Kunal Kapoor has served on PitchBook’s board of directors since 2012 and will become Morning Star CEO at the start of 2017.
He said, “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.”
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