Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg L.P.)

Bloomberg L.P. (Limited Partnership) is a closely-held financial software, news and data company. It has a one-third share of the market, similar to Thomson Reuters. Bloomberg L.P. was founded by Michael Bloomberg (current Mayor of New York City) with the help of Thomas Secunda and other partners (Bloomberg's former coworkers from Salomon Brothers) in 1981 with the help of a 30% ownership investment by Merrill Lynch. The company provides financial software tools such as analytics and equity trading platform, data services and news to financial companies and organizations around the world through the Bloomberg Terminal, its core money-generating product. Bloomberg L.P. has grown to include a global news service, including television, radio, the Internet and printed publications.

Its current headquarters are located at the Bloomberg Tower, 731 Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building is also known as One Beacon Court for the lighted rectangular beacon that caps the tower and the paved courtyard at the ground level.

It was incorporated as a Delaware Limited Partnership in 1981 and has been in business since 1983. Michael Bloomberg owns 85% of the group. Bloomberg's core business is leasing terminals to subscribers. It also runs Bloomberg Television, a financial TV station, and a business radio station WBBR in New York City at a loss. Forbes Magazine estimated, in 2000, Bloomberg's cash flow margins on its $2.3 billion in revenues exceed 35%. Bloomberg reports more than 100,000 users in North America, and more than 150,000 in the rest of the world. Its competitors include SNL Financial, Thomson Reuters, Capital IQ, Dow Jones Newswires, FactSet Research Systems and smaller companies such as New York Financial Press. In July 2008, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell its 20% stake in the firm back to Bloomberg, for a reported $4.43 billion, valuing the firm a