Outlet profile

IFR

UK-based financial trade press, apolitical

Owned byLondon Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), via its Refinitiv subsidiary; previously owned by Thomson Reuters until Blackstone acquired a controlling stake in Thomson Reuters' financial-and-risk unit in 2018, renaming it Refinitiv; LSEG then acquired Refinitiv for roughly $27 billion in January 2021

FundingInstitutional subscriptions (investment banks, asset managers, and other capital-market participants) and bundled access through LSEG's Workspace data platform; no advertising-dependent or state-funded model

On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

IFR was founded in London in 1974 to serve the emerging Eurobond and international securities markets, providing deal-by-deal intelligence that investment bankers could not get elsewhere. It grew steadily through the 1980s and 1990s as global capital markets expanded, establishing a reputation for authoritative league-table data and market-moving scoops. The publication was acquired by Thomson Financial, which later merged with Reuters to form Thomson Reuters; IFR became a flagship title in that company's financial-data division. In 2018 Blackstone led a consortium that purchased roughly 55 percent of Thomson Reuters' financial-and-risk business, which was renamed Refinitiv; IFR moved with it. In January 2021 LSEG completed its $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv, making IFR part of a publicly listed exchange-group empire. Throughout those ownership changes, IFR retained an editorially independent newsroom. Its audience is almost exclusively financial professionals, so its coverage is technical and market-focused rather than ideological; it does not carry op-eds on social or partisan topics. The publication marked its 50th anniversary in 2024, still widely regarded as the authoritative record of international capital-markets activity.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-09-07; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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