Reuters and Thomson have settled on the terms of the $17.24 billion merger announced last week, sounding the starting bell for a longer-than-usual regulatory review, the Journal reports. Reuters head Tom Glocer will become CEO of the new Thomson-Reuters, which combines the second- and third-largest providers of financial data and raises antitrust concerns.
Some subscribers welcome a strong challenge to Bloomberg, but the size and complexity of the merger and the fact that so few companies dominate the market means the review may take as long as a year. Glocer said he doesn't foresee any forced divestment by the new company, which will be listed in the US and the UK. (More Thomson stories.)