Feb 9, 2018

Major media company Thomson Reuters is acquiring Point Carbon , a Norwegian media company that provides analysis, news and content for the energy and environmental markets. It’s a smart move. Thomson Reuters, after all, is the amalgam of Reuters and the Thomson Corporations, an information company that supplied textbooks and other academic materials that acquired the news service in 2008. A press release states that the Point Carbon acquisition, announced last week, “strengthens Thomson Reuters offerings to the energy sector through the combination of Point Carbon’s critical insight, market fundamentals and powerful analytics of key price drivers with Thomson Reuters leading news and pricing service.” After the acquisition, expected in the next few weeks, Point Carbon will be available through Thomson Reuters Eikon, the company’s new desktop offering that will be launched later this year. Reuters Insider, Thomson Reuters’ financial video platform that it recently launched, will start broadcasting on the energy and environmental markets using Point Carbon’s analysts and data. There is another reason the acquisition of Point Carbon is a smart move on Thomson Reuters’ part. A Reuters’ article on the acquisition points out that the agreement to buy Point Carbon “comes as public concern about global warming and rising energy consumption grows and investors seek opportunities to make money from these trends.” The article goes on to say: “One of the more popular ways to trade in the energy sector with an eye on the environment is through carbon markets, where investors buy and sell ‘carbon credits.’” The Reuters’ article mention that Bloomberg LP, rival to Thomson Reuters, bought New Energy Finance, a company that provides services similar to Point Carbon. Point Carbon’s website states that Thomson Reuters and Point Carbon “will continue to deliver the critical information and tools to allow you to optimize your business, investment and trading strategies in this evolving marketplace.” “This acquisition underscores Thomson Reuters commitment to the global energy markets and supports our growth plans for our leading commodity and energy business. Thomson Reuters clients will benefit from greater expertise and highly innovative technologies that will provide further granularity and a more sophisticated view of market conditions and their impact on price and trading. We will look to expanding our business to new customers, geographies and asset classes,” said Shaun Sibley , Global Head of Commodities & Energy, Thomson Reuters. “Point Carbon has experienced excellent growth over the last 10 years and currently holds leading positions in our areas of focus. I truly believe that combining Thomson Reuters and Point Carbon is an excellent union of forces that will take Point Carbon to the next level,” said Per-Otto Wold , CEO and Co-founder of Point Carbon. Schibsted ASA, Norway’s biggest media company, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek (BW) agreed to sell Point Carbon its shares “as part of the deal and will book a profit of approximately 100 million kroner ($15.3 million).” Gisle Glueck Evensen, Schibsted’s head of mergers and acquisitions told BW the company currently has “less than 20 percent.” BW also reported that Point Carbon raised $26 million worth of venture capital in 2007 by selling shares to Oak Investment Partners and JPMorgan Chase & Co.