BENGALURU: Data firm IHS Markit Ltd. said on Monday it will buy smaller rival Ipreo from private equity funds of BlackStone Group LP and Goldman Sachs for $1.86 billion to expand its customer base. “Ipreo has an extremely strong brand in financial markets and its services are a logical and highly complementary extension to our financial services business and our customer base,” said Chief Executive Lance Uggla. The buyout arm of Blackstone and Goldman Sachs acquired Ipreo from another buyout firm, KKR & Co. LP, in April 2014. Ipreo supports participants including banks, public and private companies raise capital. The deal, which will be funded through debt financing from HSBC, is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals. Thomson Reuters Corp, the parent company of Reuters News, competes with Ipreo and IHS Markit in some segments of the financial data business. Barclays and HSBC are the financial advisers for IHS Markit.