Reuters Unloads Yankee Group

The Yankee Group hopes to get a shot in the arm after Monitor Clipper Partners--the private-equity investment arm of global consulting firm the Monitor Group--acquired it from Reuters on Thursday for an undisclosed price. The technology research firm certainly stands to get a dose of fresh energy in the form of former Lycos president Ted Philip, who was brought in by Monitor Clipper as an investment partner and plans to play an active role in Yankee Group's future as CEO of an as-yet-unnamed entity that will serve as Yankee Group's parent.

Reuters purchased Yankee Group in 2000, along with financial-services research firm TowerGroup, with the intent of integrating it into its core news and information offerings. That integration never happened, says a Reuters spokesman, leading the company to divest itself of both firms. Reuters continues to have partnerships that give it access to research content from both. "There was no reason we needed to own them to extract value," the spokesman said. Reuters sold TowerGroup in February to MasterCard International subsidiary MasterCard Advisors.

George Bates, Yankee Group's VP of marketing, says the prospect of being owned by a company that's committed to growing the business should mean higher levels of customer service and expanded product offerings. Bates says Yankee Group should be a core resource for Monitor Group's consulting business, whereas it had become somewhat ancillary for Reuters. The presence of Philip reflects Monitor Clipper's commitment to leveraging as many of Yankee Group's strengths as possible. Bates says Philip's track record of building businesses and getting the most out of his people bodes well for Yankee Group's future. Says Bates, "The fact that he says he wants to be hands-on is very exciting to us."