Morningstar to Buy Private Equity, M&A Data Vendor PitchBook

PitchBook enables users to research potential investment opportunities in the private equity markets, providing information on deals, limited partners, investment funds and any service providers involved in deals. The acquisition will enable Morningstar to expand its data and services to new clients among private and institutional investors.

PitchBook was founded in 2007, and Morningstar invested $1.2 million in Series A funding in 2009, then $10 million in Series B funding in January this year, giving it a 20 percent stake in the vendor. The deal values PitchBook at $225 million, and is expected to close before year-end. Officials say the acquisition will support the next stage of PitchBook's growth, including developing its next-generation data and software platform and expanding its business in Europe and Asia.

"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," says Morningstar president Kunal Kapoor, who has served on PitchBook's board since 2012.