UPDATE 1-General Atlantic buys majority stake in Argus Media

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LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm General
Atlantic will acquire a majority stake in oil price reporting
agency Argus Media in a deal valuing London-based Argus at
nearly 1 billion pounds ($1.45 billion).
Argus executive chairman Adrian Binks will continue in the
business and retain the "majority of his significant
shareholding in the new structure alongside General Atlantic",
Argus said in a statement.
The deal is expected to turn dozens of Argus' shareholding
journalists into millionaires.
Argus, which competes with news and pricing agencies such as
Platts and Thomson Reuters TRI.TO , hired Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)
Merrill Lynch last year to review its strategic options after
some investors said they wanted to sell shares.
Argus attracted over 60 potential buyers and investors at
the time, including U.S. buyout fund Hellman & Friedman,
Singapore's Temasek, the Rothschild Group, and competitors
including IHS.
"We are delighted to welcome General Atlantic as our partner
as we enter our next phase of growth," Binks said.
General Atlantic managing director Gabriel Caillaux said:
"Argus is an ideal fit with General Atlantic's philosophy of
supporting entrepreneurs to build global growth businesses."
Members of the founding Nasmyth family will all sell their
shares under the deal, bringing the family's involvement with
Argus to an end.
The family owns over 18 million shares, or half the stock.
Binks owns close to 10 million A and B class shares. He is the
only shareholder with B shares, which give additional voting
rights.
"It has been an incredible 46 years, with huge growth in the
business driven by an exceptional team," the Nasmyth family said
in a statement.
The company's sales grew by 15 percent in the 12 months to
June 30 last year to 123 million pounds, and pretax profit rose
by around 10 percent to 32.5 million.
The two businesses expect to complete the transaction within
two months, subject to regulatory approval.
($1 = 0.6913 pounds)