Bloomberg spend nearly $1 billion to buy legal and tax research company

Bloomberg LP announced Thursday a deal to acquire legal, tax and regulatory research firm BNA for $39.50 per share in a cash offer for a total purchase price of approximately $990 million.

The transaction is expected to close in 2011.

A combination of Bloomberg and BNA would include news content, subject matter expertise, proprietary data and technological capabilities to provide  products and solutions for professionals and decision makers in law, government, business and finance.

This acquisition is expected to strengthen Bloomberg’s offerings in the legal information market by complementing Bloomberg Law — the only legal research system that fully integrates primary research, dockets, company information and proprietary news — with BNA’s trusted legal, tax and regulatory content.

In addition, the combination would enhance Bloomberg’s coverage and analysis of tax and accounting, labor and employment, health care, intellectual property and telecommunications issues.

The acquisition would significantly grow Bloomberg’s presence in the Washington, D.C. area through its multiple operating units — Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Government, Bloomberg Law and BNA — which would work together to provide coverage and analysis of U.S. policy and regulatory issues for customers.

“BNA’s employees have built a superior franchise and we are enthusiastic about a Bloomberg-BNA combination that will deliver more premium content to our professional audiences,” said Dan Doctoroff, CEO and president of Bloomberg, in a statement. “BNA research and analysis will make Bloomberg’s products even more valuable, and BNA would benefit from our data and technology expertise.”