OptionMetrics Partners With Equality Asset Management to Broaden Product Portfolio, Expand Markets

Partnership with Boston-based growth equity firm will support expansion of OptionMetrics' datasets and analytics and accelerate new product development for institutional investors, traders, and academic researchers

NEW YORK & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OptionMetrics, the leading options data and analytics provider for institutional investors and academic researchers worldwide, and Equality Asset Management (EAM), a Boston-based growth equity firm, announce a partnership to accelerate OptionMetrics’ product development and market expansion. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

EAM partners with founder-led software and technology companies that hold category-leading positions in their markets. Its investment gives OptionMetrics additional resources to reach new customer segments, continue to deepen coverage across global markets, and deliver new capabilities to the market faster.

“EAM understands our business and shares our conviction about where it can go," said David J. Hait, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of OptionMetrics. "The EAM team has a strong track record of helping companies innovate and enter new markets. We are grateful to Leeds Equity Partners for their partnership over the past five years, which helped us broaden our product offerings. With EAM alongside us, we will keep building on the high-quality data and analytics products our clients rely on."

Hait will continue to lead OptionMetrics as Chief Executive Officer.

Founded in 1999, OptionMetrics built the gold standard in historical options data. Portfolio managers, traders, quantitative researchers, institutional investors, hedge fund managers and academics worldwide rely on its IvyDB databases and analytics to construct and test investment strategies, conduct empirical research, and assess risk. In recent years, the company expanded its product portfolio with Woodseer Global Dividend Forecast Data and OptionStrat for retail investors.

Jeff Del Papa, Managing Partner at EAM, said, “We are extremely happy to partner with David and the OptionMetrics team. David’s vision for OptionMetrics’ proprietary, high-value data assets and solutions was brilliant from the start. The value that OptionMetrics delivers to its customers stands out in the world of FinTech, and we are thrilled to be working with the company as it continues to innovate and expand its capabilities.”

The partnership comes as demand for options data continues to grow, driven by rising options volumes and increasingly sophisticated approaches to risk assessment and strategy development. OptionMetrics plans to invest in innovation across its products, including its international IvyDB options data, dividend intelligence suite, and OptionStrat.

John Batter, Principal at EAM, said, “OptionMetrics has built a strong, well-deserved reputation as the gold standard in options pricing, volatility and derived analytics data, becoming deeply embedded in client workflows. We have great respect for what David and his team have accomplished to date and look forward to continuing to build out the suite of data and analytics products and further differentiate OptionMetrics’ market-leading position.”

Financial advisor to OptionMetrics was Solomon Partners and legal counsel was Polsinelli. Legal counsel to EAM was Goodwin Procter.

About OptionMetrics

OptionMetrics is the premier provider of historical options data, volatility data, and analytics for institutional investors and academics worldwide. For 27 years, OptionMetrics has provided the gold standard in options data and analytics to quantitative researchers, risk managers, portfolio managers, and traders, at leading corporate and academic institutions. Financial professionals rely on OptionMetrics' academic-grade data to track implied volatility and market expectations, construct and test investment strategies, perform empirical research, and assess risk. Learn more at www.optionmetrics.com.

About Equality Asset Management

EAM is a growth-focused private equity firm. EAM provides equity capital and strategic and operating support to growth companies in the software and software-enabled services sectors. With decades of investment and operating experience, the firm has earned a reputation for value creation, serving as steadfast partners to founders and CEOs. For more information visit www.equalityam.com.