NASDAQ Looks At Overlapping Integration, Growth In $705 Million Acquisition of eVestment

The business of being a stock exchange has been a moving target to various degrees. With dark pools and renegade entrants eroding the business “moat,” the once dominate exchanges have been looking to diversify revenue models. Rather than just rely on exchange transaction fees, exchanges have been licensing their technology, selling compliance and risk management services as well as leveraging data sales to boost revenues. Into this landscape walks Nasdaq, which announced Monday that is was acquiring eVestment, a data analytics provider to the asset management industry, for $705 million.

Exchanges look beyond transaction-based revenue for growth to achieve higher...