Thomson Reuters Agrees to Sell Intellectual Property Unit

  • Divests unit to Onex, Baring Private Equity for $3.55 billion
  • Intends to use $1 billion of proceeds to buy back stock
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Thomson Reuters Corp. agreed to sell its Intellectual Property & Science division to Onex Corp. and Baring Private Equity Asia for $3.55 billion in cash, shedding the unit to focus on its core financial products.

The media company will use $1 billion of the proceeds to reduce debt and buy back stock as part of a previously announced $1.5 billion plan, according to a Thomson Reuters statementBloomberg Terminal Monday. The division it’s selling provides research and information on trademarks, patents and online brand protection through products such as Thomson CompuMark, Thomson Innovation and MarkMonitor.