Temasek pays $624 million for 10% stake in Markit: Source

SINGAPORE - Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd has paid US$500 million (S$624 million) for a stake of around 10 percent in financial data provider Markit Group, a person familiar with the transaction said.

Markit said in a statement late Tuesday that the deal had been completed, but did not confirm how much Temasek had paid.

The deal underlines how far Markit has come since it was formed by a group of credit traders in 2001, and is expected to help them expand further into emerging markets.

"The strength of Temasek's position and profile in Asia, an area where we see significant potential and opportunity, will help fuel our growth in the region," said Markit Chief Executive Lance Uggla.

The US$500 million payment price had been flagged by a source earlier in May.

Markit made its name providing data for the credit markets but has since expanded into a range of areas including derivative trade processing and publishing economic indicators such as their Purchasing Managers Indexes (PMIs).