Reuters Group
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media, Financial information |
| Founded | 1851 |
| Founder | Paul Reuter |
| Defunct | 2008 |
| Fate | Acquired by The Thomson Corporation; merged to form Thomson Reuters |
| Headquarters | London , United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Tom Glocer (last CEO) |
| Products | News agency services, Financial market data services, Business news and information services |
| Parent | The Thomson Corporation (from 2008) |
Reuters Group plc was a multinational media and financial information enterprise based in London, United Kingdom. In 2008, it was acquired by the Thomson Corporation, leading to the creation of Thomson Reuters and the transfer of its headquarters to Toronto.
While originally recognized for the Reuters news agency, its foundational operation, the majority of the company's income eventually stemmed from financial market data services obtained through acquisitions. News reporting accounted for less than 10% of total revenue.
Origins
Paul Reuter leveraged the electric telegraph's capacity for rapid news transmission during the 1850s. Operating out of Aachen, then part of Prussia, he utilized the Berlin–Aachen telegraph connection to send information to Berlin but encountered a 76-mile telegraph gap to Brussels. To overcome this obstacle, he employed homing pigeons as a faster communication method.
In 1851, Reuter relocated to London, anticipating opportunities from the newly established undersea telegraph cable linking Dover and Calais. He founded his "Submarine Telegraph" office and secured an agreement with the London Stock Exchange to exchange stock prices with European markets, providing Parisian brokers with London price updates. By 1865, his enterprise was incorporated as Reuter's Telegram Company Limited. Reuter became a naturalized British citizen in 1857.
The agency earned a reputation across Europe for delivering exclusive international news stories, such as coverage of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
The final living descendant of Reuters' founding family, Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, passed away in 2009 at age 96 following several strokes.
Public listing (IPO)
In 1984, Reuters transitioned into a publicly traded company by listing on both the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. To preserve its legacy of impartial journalism, its corporate charter restricted any individual shareholder from owning more than 15% of shares. Should this limit be surpassed, company directors had authority to require reduction of that stake. This provision was activated in the late 1980s when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which already held nearly 15%, acquired an Australian media firm containing Reuters shares, prompting Murdoch to decrease his holding below the threshold.
An additional safeguard for Reuters’ editorial independence is embodied by the Reuters Founders Share Company Limited, established during the 1984 IPO. This entity holds a "Founders Share" granting veto rights over any amendments to the Reuters Trust Principles, which enshrine commitments to independence, integrity, and unbiased reporting. Following the creation of Thomson Reuters, these principles remain upheld through RFSC’s Founders Shares in both Thomson Reuters Corporation and Thomson Reuters PLC.
Growth after IPO
After going public in 1984, Reuters swiftly broadened its suite of business products and expanded its global network covering media, financial markets, and economic services. In 1988, it collaborated with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to develop "Globex," an automated futures trading platform with an investment exceeding US$100 million. Notable product introductions included Equities 2000 (1987), Dealing 2000-2 (1992), Business Briefing (1994), Reuters Television targeting financial markets (1994), the 3000 Series (1996), and Reuters 3000 Xtra (1999).
During the mid-1990s, Reuters briefly ventured into radio broadcasting through ownership of London Radio’s stations and launched Reuters Radio News as a competitor to Independent Radio News. In 1995, it established the "Greenhouse Fund" aimed at investing in technology startups initially focused on the United States. In October 2007, Reuters Market Light debuted as a mobile service providing Indian farmers with localized commodity prices, news updates, and weather forecasts.
Thomson Acquisition
On 15 May 2007, Canada's The Thomson Corporation finalized the purchase of Reuters in a transaction valued at US$17.6 billion. Post-merger, Thomson held approximately 53% ownership of the combined company, which was rebranded as Thomson Reuters. Former Reuters CEO Tom Glocer assumed leadership as CEO of the merged organization. To facilitate Reuters' strategic direction following recent financial challenges, the standard 15% ownership limit was waived. The deal was officially completed on 17 April 2008.
Strategic Acquisitions and Investments
- Action Images – In September 2005, Reuters expanded its portfolio by acquiring Action Images, a North London-based agency boasting a collection of over 8 million sports photographs, including 1.7 million available online.
- Application Networks – Reuters acquired Application Networks in June 2006, a provider of trade and risk management software built around the JRisk platform, alongside Feri Fund Market Information Ltd and its subsidiary FI Datenservice GmbH.
- AVT Technologies – In December 2002, Reuters integrated AVT Technologies, a specialist in foreign exchange transaction systems, establishing an Automated Dealing Technologies division.
- Bridge Information Systems – The largest acquisition to that point occurred in September 2001 when Reuters obtained a partial stake in Bridge Information Systems Inc., also acquiring Diagram fip SA and ProTrader Group LP within the same year while divesting from VentureOne Corp.
- ClearForest – In June 2007, Reuters added ClearForest to its assets, a company focused on text analytics that extracts actionable business intelligence from textual data.
- EcoWin – Acquired in November 2005, EcoWin is a Gothenburg-based supplier of global financial, equity, and economic datasets.
- Factiva – Established in May 1999 as a joint venture with Dow Jones & Company to deliver business news and information services; Reuters divested its 50% stake to Dow Jones in December 2006.
- Instinet – After gaining full ownership in 1987, Reuters partially floated Instinet through an IPO in May 2001 and fully sold its remaining shares by December 2005 to NASDAQ and Silver Lake Partners.
- Multex.com Inc. – Purchased in March 2003, Multex.com offered worldwide financial data services.
- StarMine Corporation – Reuters acquired StarMine Corporation in January 2008, a firm specializing in equity research tools and quantitative analytics solutions.
- TIBCO Software – Following TIBCO's NASDAQ IPO in July 1999, Reuters retained a significant equity stake and began transitioning core operations toward an internet-centric business model starting early 2000.
Corporate Offices
Since 1939, Reuters had its main office on London's Fleet Street, housed in a structure designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. In 2005, the company moved to a larger headquarters located within the contemporary financial hub of Canary Wharf. The Reuters Building at 30 South Colonnade sits adjacent to landmarks such as One Canada Square, Jubilee Park, and the Canary Wharf tube station. The plaza below this building has been renamed Reuters Plaza.
Reuters' North American base is situated in Hoboken, New Jersey, having previously been located at the Reuters Building at 3 Times Square in New York City—positioned on Seventh Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets—with construction spanning from 1998 to 2001.
Ahead of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the Asian headquarters relocated from Hong Kong to Singapore. Thomson Reuters currently operates offices within ICBC Tower and Cityplaza 3 in Singapore, with two principal sites: One Raffles Quay downtown and another at 18 Science Park Drive near the National University of Singapore.