High-flying traders dominate the financial markets. But although the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis took place in their sector, it was not their talent the buyers were willing to stump up $17bn for. It was the data under their floorboards and on their screens.

In January, a group led by Blackstone, the US private equity firm, announced it would acquire a 55% stake in Thomson Reuters’ financial and risk business, including the Eikon terminals that sit on many City workers’ desks, foreign exchange trading venues and a majority stake in Tradeweb, the fixed-income platform.