KKR strikes $3.1bn OSTTRA deal

July 2025 | DEALFRONT | PRIVATE EQUITY & VENTURE CAPITAL

Financier Worldwide Magazine

July 2025 Issue

Private equity (PE) giant KKR has agreed to acquire OSTTRA, a leading provider of post-trade solutions for the global over the counter (OTC) market, from CME Group and S&P Global in a deal worth $3.1bn.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

Launched in 2021 as a joint venture equally owned by CME and IHS Markit, OSTTRA specialises in OTC markets, where trades are made away from a central exchange. S&P bought IHS Markit for around $44bn in 2022. Profits from the sale will be divided evenly between OSTTRA’s two founding companies.

Under the terms of the deal, OSTTRA’s management team, led by co-chief executives Guy Rowcliffe and John Stewart, will continue to lead the company in their current roles.

OSTTRA currently operates from eight global offices and employs around 1350 professionals. Its solutions facilitate trade processing, lifecycle management, clearing, settlement and portfolio optimisation, serving a client base including banks, asset managers, broker-dealers and other institutional market participants. The company’s operating profits jumped in 2024, reaching $26m in Q4, up 43 percent on Q4 2023’s $18m.

KKR plans to implement a broad-based equity ownership programme for OSTTRA’s workforce, offering employees a stake in the company’s future performance. KKR said that this model aligns with its longstanding approach of fostering employee engagement through ownership, noting that since 2011, more than 60 portfolio companies have distributed equity value to over 150,000 employees beyond senior management.

“We are incredibly grateful for our partnership with CME Group and S&P Global over the past several years and delighted to have KKR’s backing as we embark on this exciting new chapter for OSTTRA,” said Mr Rowcliffe and Mr Stewart. “With KKR’s support, we will further accelerate our strategic initiatives to enhance our market-leading post-trade solutions, drive innovation, and expand our global footprint. Together, we look forward to delivering even greater value to our customers and helping them navigate the ever-evolving OTC landscape.”

“We have long admired OSTTRA for its mission-critical solutions, deep customer relationships, and strong market position, which we believe provide a great foundation for future growth,” said Webster Chua, a partner at KKR. “We look forward to working with the OSTTRA team and leveraging our experience in the tech-enabled and financial services sectors to help the company further innovate and drive value for its customers.”

“OSTTRA has generated significant growth over the past several years, and we are pleased with the role our joint venture played in driving the company forward,” said Terry Duffy, chairman and chief executive of CME Group. “Looking ahead, as the post-trade marketplace continues to evolve, we are confident that KKR will further scale this business and extend the important efficiencies that OSTTRA delivers to clients.”

“We’re thrilled about this next chapter for OSTTRA, which, together with KKR, is ideally positioned to tackle today’s complex post-trade challenges and proactively meet future operational demands,” said John Barneson, chairman of the board of OSTTRA and head of enterprise solutions at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “This transaction reflects S&P Global’s continued commitment to active portfolio optimization in support of our strategy and to fuel future growth.”

KKR’s purchase of OSTTRA was the firm’s second major deal announced in April, at a time when global dealmaking was jolted by President Trump’s latest tariff announcements. Earlier in the month, KKR agreed a €2.6bn deal to buy Sweden’s Karo Healthcare from rival EQT.

New York-based KKR specialises in PE, credit, infrastructure and real estate investments. The deal will be made primarily through KKR’s North American PE funds, which have invested $160bn in capital and hold $55bn in available capital as of December 2024.

Richard Summerfield