Sept 23 (Reuters) - Morningstar ( MORN ) said on Tuesday

it will buy market data firm, the Center for Research in

Security Prices (CRSP), from the University of Chicago for $375

million, as the investment insights firm looks to expand its

index business.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of

2025.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The acquisition will give Morningstar ( MORN ) access to the CRSP

Market Indexes, which benchmarks more than $3 trillion in U.S.

equities across market capitalizations, investment styles and

sectors.

It will also catapult Morningstar ( MORN ) into one of the largest

index providers for public U.S. equity index funds, it said.

CONTEXT

Founded in 1960 at the university, CRSP provides historical

stock market data and indexes to investors, academics, and

regulatory authorities.

Morningstar ( MORN ) entered the index business in 2001 and currently

offers more than 25,000 indexes that can be used as performance

benchmarks.

North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa were the

largest markets of Morningstar's ( MORN ) index business last year.

BY THE NUMBERS

The asset value linked to Morningstar Indexes business rose

6.5% to $221 billion in the three months ended June 30.

CRSP generates roughly $55 million in annual revenue, while

Morningstar Indexes generated $84.7 million in revenue last

year.