Raleigh-based fintech Global Data Consortium (GDC) announced its acquisition by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) today.
The deal means GDC will become part of LSEG’s Data & Analytics division and join LSEG’s growing suite of digital identity solutions to expand its capabilities through both direct sales and channel partnerships.
While financial details were undisclosed, GDC’s Co-Founder Charles Gaddy said that comparisons to past Triangle exits like Bronto ($200 million in 2015 to Netsuite) and PrecisionLender ($510 million in 2019) were directionally accurate. Because of the deal, 25 current and past employees are now millionaires.
“The nature of the fintech space right now and the traction that organizations like us have been seeing since the pandemic, absolutely put us in the same sort of atmosphere,” Gaddy said.
James Mirfin, LSEG’s Global Head of Digital Identity & Fraud Solutions, said the acquisition of GDC is aligned with their vision to become a market-leading global identity and fraud solutions provider. GDC specializes in delivering digital identity verification in almost real time.
GDC and LSEG (Refinitiv at the time) originally sat down before the pandemic and closed an early round that set up where they stand today, Gaddy said.
“They got to see how we operated as a partner, how our tech could mesh with their tech very well, the advantages of working with a nimble organization and that over the pandemic as our numbers just continued to grow,” Gaddy said. “They saw more and more not just viability but growth opportunity and rolling us into their organization.”
The 40 people GDC employs are now 40 experts that LSEG can bring on a global basis to curate the data needed to make the products successful, he added. He compares it to creating high-quality chocolate.
“We refine some of the best sugar you can get to put in your chocolate,” Gaddy said. “Refinitiv has a lot of chocolate they want to make. The data that we curate, the sugar that we have, will make their solutions much better.”
Growing up in Wilmington, Gaddy said building a company like GDC has allowed him to see the world and do things he never imagined possible when he was a child.
He hopes with the new cash flow to the Triangle, GDC employees will continue making a mark in the tech ecosystem.
“It’d be nice to see the GDC gang get out there and invest in other startups in the area and really show that this area of the Triangle can produce outstanding fintechs and other organizations,” Gaddy said.
