Private equity group Hg agrees sale of Argus Media stake

LONDON (Reuters) - Private equity group Hg is selling its stake in Argus Media in a deal that will give majority ownernship of the commodities pricing data company to Chairman and CEO Adrian Binks.

The deal involves Binks and existing shareholder General Atlantic consolidating their stakes in Argus, the companies said on Monday.

The transaction is expected to close within the next month.

HgCapital Trust (HGT), an investor managed by Hg, said that the deal valued its investment in Argus at about 52 million pounds. The value only related to HGT's share of Hg's overall investment in Argus, it added.

Reuters reported in October that Hg had been gauging interest in its 25% stake in the London-based business.

Argus competes with rivals such as Fastmarkets, owned by Astorg, and Platts, which is owned by credit rating agency S&P.

General Atlantic had also considered selling its stake in Argus Media, Reuters reported in November.

Under the deal, General Atlantic is investing additional capital to increase its ownership, the statement said.

($1 = 0.7868 pounds)

(This story has been corrected to show that the value stated relates to HgCapital Trust, not Hg, in paragraph 2 and 4)

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Iain Withers in London; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and David Goodman)