Consolidation among vendors, brokers and exchanges is nothing new. As one industry consultant put it, the landscape has changed greatly since the “crisis years” of 2007 and 2008. Then, it was “everyone for themself,” whereas now “the ‘sharing economy’ has expanded into mergers and acquisitions, where it is considered best to pool resources rather than compete with finite resources.”

The reality is that the financial data industry, like any other, is filled with competitive forces. Companies