Reuters sells Yankee Group

Reuters Group has sold Boston-based industry research firm The Yankee Group to a group of investors led by Monitor Clipper Partners, a private equity firm.

The 34-year-old research firm was acquired by Reuters in 2000 for $72.5m. Terms of the sale to Monitor Clipper Partners were not disclosed.

The Yankee Group had been on the market since October 2003, when Reuters decided that the 150 employee research firm was "not core to their strategy", said George Bates, Yankee's vice president of marketing.

The private investors who purchased the research firm include Ted Phillip, a former executive at Lycos, who will play an "active" role in the investment.

Monitor Clipper Partners is a joint venture between the Monitor Group, a family of professional services firms and The Clipper Group, a privately held investment company. Founded in 1997, it is a $1.5bn private investment firm.

Robert McMillan writes for IDG News Service