Barchart Acquires Stockgroup Media Inc.'s Financial Tools Business

CHICAGO, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Barchart.com, Inc., a leading provider of market data and information, today announced the acquisition of Stockgroup Media Inc.'s Financial Tools business.  Under the terms of the transaction, Barchart acquired the customer assets of Stockgroup's business-to-business line of services which include private-labeled financial content solutions for websites and market data feeds, in addition to intellectual property, notably the Stockgroup name and website domain.  Stockgroup is based in Vancouver, Canada and their clients include financial service providers, banks and brokerage firms, as well as media, financial websites and corporate clients.  The acquisition was a full cash purchase for an undisclosed amount.

Stockgroup's Financial Tools include market data, quotes, charts, portfolios, screeners, alerts, news, financial research tools and data feeds covering Canadian, US and international equity, option, index, mutual fund and futures/commodity markets.  In total Stockgroup offers over thirty different Financial Tools modules ranging from comprehensive private-labeled solutions for investors, to custom and individual services tailored to a client's requirements.  Stockgroup's solutions support real-time, delayed, end-of-day and historical market data.

"The Stockgroup acquisition aligns very well with our goal of continuing to expand our portfolio of market data and information services, clients and partners.  Not only has Stockgroup been a premier provider of web-based financial tools and market data solutions since 1995, they have also established a significant set of clients and partners which was very appealing to us," said Eero Pikat, President of Barchart.  "As their services aligned very closely with our own we were able to identify both areas for enhancements and key synergies," added Pikat.

“This acquisition is the right strategic move for our company and for our clients,” said Elliott Lipsey, President and CEO of Stockgroup. “I’m excited about the opportunities that will benefit our clients. They’ll be pleased with the variety of new financial tools and data sets that Barchart will be able to deliver. Given the synergies between our businesses, their solid financial status and stable and reliable technical infrastructure, Barchart is well-positioned to support our clients through a seamless transition,” Lipsey added.

Along with the acquisition, Barchart will offer both existing and new clients an expanded set of financial content and tools, featuring the latest in web design, technology and functionality.  Like Stockgroup, Barchart has offered its own set of private-labeled financial tools for third-party websites and market data feeds since 1995.  Barchart's client base overlaps with Stockgroup's in the financial services and media industries, yet also extends into other sectors like agricultural, energy, metals and foreign exchange.

"As a result of the acquisition, we will be able to offer both our existing and new clients more data and more features which is a strong benefit," said Pikat.  "Barchart is very well positioned not only to continue to meet today's requirements for financial content, data and tools, but to also lead the way with new solutions that are innovative and robust," added Pikat.

For more information about Barchart's market data solutions, please visit www.barchartmarketdata.com.

About Barchart

With a heritage dating back to 1934, Barchart.com, Inc. has substantial experience in meeting the data and information needs of the financial, media, agricultural and energy industries. As a full-service provider of equity, mutual fund, futures and foreign exchange market data and tools, in addition to news, and fundamental and technical data, Barchart provides a wide range of market data products and solutions. As an established leader in an industry that demands accuracy and innovation, Barchart's goal is to form partnerships that deliver comprehensive solutions for success.  For more information, please visit www.barchartinc.com.

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SOURCE Barchart.com, Inc.