Markit Acquires Technology Assets from Storm Networks LLC

NEW YORK and LONDON--Markit, a leading, global financial information services company, today announced it has acquired technology assets from Storm Networks, LLC ("Storm"), a provider of solutions for the syndicated loan market that improve trade settlement workflow and connectivity with counterparties. Markit has also agreed to license software and technology from Quartet Financial Systems ("QuartetFS"), a technology partner of Storm that provides services to the capital markets with a focus on business intelligence and complex event processing tools.

Armins Rusis, Executive Vice President and Global Co-Head of Fixed Income at Markit, said: "We have invested significantly in our loans business and the combined acquisitions of Storm and ClearPar allow us to support existing trade processing infrastructure while transitioning the market to an electronic settlement model. The ultimate solution, which includes Markit's loan data, messaging, and identifiers, will increase efficiency and transparency which in turn will promote liquidity, ushering in a new investor class."

The addition of the Storm technology to the ClearPar loan settlement platform, acquired by Markit in late 2009, will create significant value for end-users by introducing a straight-through-processing model with standardized terms under a master agreement, which will eliminate the need to sign multiple documents. It will also decrease settlement times by providing customers with access to real-time agency bank data for inventory verification, credit restrictions and corporate actions. ClearPar settles primary and secondary syndicated loans in both par and distressed markets in the United States and Europe.

About QFS
Quartet Financial Systems (QuartetFS) was founded in response to demand from industries with complex business models and a need to make timely decisions. The company is privately held by its founders and has offices in New York, London and Paris. For more information, see www.quartetfs.com.

About Markit
Markit is a leading, global financial information services company with over 1,400 employees. The company provides independent data, valuations and trade processing across all asset classes in order to enhance transparency, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency. Its client base includes the most significant institutional participants in the financial market place.

For More Information, Please Contact
Michael Gormley
Director
Markit
Telephone: +1 212 205 1310
Email: michael.gormley@markit.com