NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) announced today that it has acquired Lewtan Technologies, a leading provider of analytical tools and data for the global structured finance market.
Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Lewtan provides solutions to issuers, investors, underwriters and others to administer, monitor and value securitized transactions. Its products cover more than 200,000 bonds and 20,000 securitized deals, serving over 300 financial institutions worldwide.
Lewtan will become part of Moody’s Analytics’ Structured Analytics and Valuations (SAV) business, which provides an extensive data and analytics library for securitized assets. SAV operates within Moody’s Research, Data and Analytics (RD&A) line of business.
“Lewtan’s capabilities are powerful complements to our structured analytics business,” said Mark Almeida, President of Moody's Analytics. “With a strong position in the European market and a leading loan-level database of residential mortgages, Lewtan expands our global reach and broadens our product offering, positioning Moody’s Analytics to deliver a more comprehensive solution to our customers.”
The acquisition is expected to have a minimal impact on Moody’s earnings per share in 2014 and 2015, and will be funded primarily from US cash on hand. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. For its fiscal year ending September 30, 2014, Lewtan generated annual revenue of approximately $25 million.
ABOUT MOODY’S CORPORATION
Moody's is an essential component of the global capital markets, providing credit ratings, research, tools and analysis that contribute to transparent and integrated financial markets. Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) is the parent company of Moody's Investors Service, which provides credit ratings and research covering debt instruments and securities, and Moody's Analytics, which offers leading-edge software, advisory services and research for credit and economic analysis and financial risk management. The Corporation, which reported revenue of $3.0 billion in 2013, employs approximately 9,700 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 33 countries. Further information is available at www.moodys.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements and are based on future expectations, plans and prospects for Moody’s business and operations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Moody’s outlook for 2014 and other forward-looking statements in this release are made as of October 24, 2014, and the Company disclaims any duty to supplement, update or revise such statements on a going-forward basis, whether as a result of subsequent developments, changed expectations or otherwise. In connection with the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company is identifying certain factors that could cause actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Those factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the current world-wide credit market disruptions and economic slowdown, which is affecting and could continue to affect the volume of debt and other securities issued in domestic and/or global capital markets; other matters that could affect the volume of debt and other securities issued in domestic and/or global capital markets, including credit quality concerns, changes in interest rates and other volatility in the financial markets; the level of merger and acquisition activity in the US and abroad; the uncertain effectiveness and possible collateral consequences of U.S. and foreign government initiatives to respond to the current world-wide credit disruptions and economic slowdown; concerns in the marketplace affecting our credibility or otherwise affecting market perceptions of the integrity or utility of independent agency ratings; the introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies; pricing pressure from competitors and/or customers; the level of success of new product development and global expansion; the impact of regulation as an NRSRO, the potential for new U.S., state and local legislation and regulations, including provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and anticipated regulations resulting from that Act; the potential for increased competition and regulation in the EU and other foreign jurisdictions; exposure to litigation related to our rating opinions, as well as any other litigation to which the Company may be subject from time to time; provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act legislation modifying the pleading standards, and EU regulations modifying the liability standards, applicable to credit rating agencies in a manner adverse to credit rating agencies; provisions of EU regulations imposing additional procedural and substantive requirements on the pricing of services; the possible loss of key employees; failures or malfunctions of our operations and infrastructure; any vulnerabilities to cyber threats or other cybersecurity concerns; the outcome of any review by controlling tax authorities of the Company’s global tax planning initiatives; the outcome of those legacy tax matters and legal contingencies that relate to the Company, its predecessors and their affiliated companies for which Moody’s has assumed portions of the financial responsibility; the impact of mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations and the ability of the Company to successfully integrate acquired businesses; currency and foreign exchange volatility; the levels of capital investments; a decline in the demand for credit risk management tools by financial institutions; and other risk factors as discussed in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and in other filings made by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.