The bidding race for Barclay's index business is nearing its end.

Reuters's Mike Stone and Jessica Toonkel report that the indexer S&P and financial data provider Markit have made it to the final round in the auction for Barclays' index business.

Barclay's first started mulling a sale after MSCI first expressed interest in buying the unit in November 2013. Barclay's indexing is known for its fixed income benchmarks, which have gotten more popular in the wake of the Libor scandal in Britain.

According to Reuters, Bloomberg had also expressed an interest in the Barclay's business.

The explosive growth of indexing products has made indexing operations attractive acquisition targets. For example, the London Stock Exchange beat out six competitors to buy Russell Investments for $2.7 billion in August. 

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


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