Thomson Reuters and Blackstone close Financial & Risk transaction

TORONTO, October 1, 2018: Thomson Reuters (TSX/NYSE: TRI) today announced that it has closed the sale of a 55% interest in the company's Financial & Risk business to private equity funds managed by Blackstone. An affiliate of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and an affiliate of GIC invested alongside Blackstone. The Financial & Risk business is now known as Refinitiv.

Thomson Reuters received approximately US$17 billion in gross cash proceeds at the closing. As previously disclosed, the company plans to return an aggregate of US$10 billion of these proceeds to its shareholders (including through a previously announced substantial issuer bid/tender offer, which expires at the end of the day tomorrow). The company expects to use the remaining proceeds to redeem approximately US$4 billion of debt (including through its previously announced debt redemption and debt tender offer), maintain approximately US$2 billion of cash on its balance sheet to fund focused acquisitions, and utilize approximately US$1 billion to cover transaction-related expenses including cash taxes, pension contributions, bond redemption costs and other fees and outflows related to the transaction.