Multex to Buy Market Guide

Multex.com, an online provider of research from major Wall Street firms, said it had agreed to acquire a similar company, Market Guide Inc., in a stock swap valued at $159 million. Market Guide shareholders will receive one share of Multex.com stock for each share they own. Market Guide primarily provides analytical data on publicly traded companies. Multex.com supplies institutional and retail investors with research from major brokerages and distributes it via wire services and Internet outlets. New York-based Multex.com went public in mid-March at $14 a share. Multex.com shares fell $2.31 to close at $26.69, while Market Guide fell $1.38 to close at $21.63, both on Nasdaq.