Independent investment research provider Morningstar Inc. last week acquired 10-K Wizard, a provider of SEC EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval) filing research and alert services. The purchase price was $12.5 million (subject to working capital adjustments).
10-K Wizard offers users full-text searching capabilities for real-time and historical SEC EDGAR filings either through subscription or a custom data feed. Users can search companies by ticker symbol, company name, industry type, SIC code, financial form type or by specific industry keywords that appear within the filings. Users can also access global company profiles that include hyperlinks to annual reports and peer companies in addition to stock quotes, news and charts.
This is a very smart acquisition by Morningstar. The ability to more easily search SEC filings will be an ideal addition to Morningstar's functionality and will enable Morningstar customers to gain an even more complete look at companies they research. This deal should certainly help further position Morningstar as a one-stop shop for investment-related information.
For 10-K Wizard, the acquisition will provide more exposure to its capabilities and its relationship with Morningstar should also provide the resources it needs to further develop these tools.