The Bond Buyer

What The Bond Buyer does

The Bond Buyer is a 133-year-old, privately held B2B media and information services company headquartered in New York and operating as a brand within the Arizent portfolio. It is the only independent information resource dedicated exclusively to the U.S. municipal finance community, providing news, market data, research, rankings, and intelligence products to professionals across the public finance value chain — including public finance officers, municipal advisors, buy-side investors, sell-side underwriters, broker-dealers, bond counsel, and government issuers.

The company's core product is a subscription-based digital platform organized around tiered intelligence modules: a flagship Market Intelligence subscription, vertical-specific Legal Intelligence and Advisor Intelligence modules, a queryable Market Data dashboard with yield indexes and bond sales data, and original Research and Rankings. Content is delivered via daily and weekly newsletters (Daily Briefing, Intraday News Update, Primary Market Report, Weekly Top 10), opinion content (MuniThink), podcasts, on-demand video, and an extensive events franchise (National Outlook, Texas/Southeast/California Public Finance, TECH FORUM, Infrastructure, Deal of the Year awards, Virtual Summits). Underlying technology is a digital publishing and data delivery platform rather than a unified software product.

The Bond Buyer monetizes through recurring subscription fees (individual, enterprise group, issuer, and student/educator tiers), conference and awards event revenue, and sponsored content partnerships with adjacent professional services and software firms (Bloomberg, DebtBook, Orrick, MuniPro). Distribution is direct-to-customer via website, email, mobile news apps, and live events, with the editorial franchise — anchored by tenured reporters covering Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Far West, and Caribbean regions — serving as the primary differentiator and retention lever.

Name

The Bond Buyer

Legal name

The Bond Buyer

Website

https://bondbuyer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1891

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Core revenue from subscription plans including individual, enterprise, issuer, and student/educator subscriptions. Subscribers can personalize their experience by selecting interest areas, journalists and newsletters.
2. Event Revenue: Revenue from conferences, events and virtual summits including National Outlook, Texas Public Finance, Southeast Public Finance, TECH FORUM, Infrastructure, California Public Finance, Deal of the Year awards dinner
3. Sponsored Content: Sponsored content and resource partnerships with companies like Bloomberg, DebtBook, Orrick, and MuniPro

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Bond Buyer is a subscription-based news, market data, and intelligence publisher serving U.S. municipal finance professionals. Its core offering is a content and intelligence platform organized around market intelligence modules (Legal Intelligence, Advisor Intelligence), a Market Data dashboard with yield indexes and bond sales, original research and industry rankings, daily/weekly newsletters, opinion content (MuniThink), podcasts and video, and industry events and awards, sold through individual, enterprise, issuer, and student/educator subscription tiers.

Product overview

The Bond Buyer is a media and information services company serving the municipal bond industry. The core offering is a content and subscription platform organized around multiple intelligence modules (Legal Intelligence, Advisor Intelligence) and specialized content products including news reporting, market data, research reports, rankings, opinion content (MuniThink), podcasts, and industry events. The company operates a tiered subscription model with enterprise, issuer, and student/educator pricing tiers, and delivers content through newsletters (Daily Briefing, Primary Market Report, Weekly Top 10) and web seminars. The product portfolio does not include a unified software platform but rather a collection of subscription-based content, data, and event services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Market Intelligence Premium subscription platform providing comprehensive news, analysis, market data, and rankings for public finance professionals. Includes topic-specific newsletters and a queryable dashboard with real-time market data.
• Legal Intelligence Focused subscription intelligence destination for public finance legal professionals delivering insight on legal, regulatory, and compliance issues shaping the municipal market.
• Advisor Intelligence Subscription intelligence platform for municipal advisors and consultants bringing together news, intelligence, and market context for client support and strategy guidance.
• Research and Rankings Original research reports, company rankings, industry benchmarking, and trend spotlights covering the municipal bond market.
• Market Data Real-time market data subscription product offering yield indexes, bond sales data, primary and secondary market data, and industry rankings.
• Daily Report Daily news briefing subscription product delivering ideas that impact the municipal bond business to subscribers every weekday.
• MuniThink Thought leadership and opinion content offering featuring opinion pieces and analysis from industry experts on municipal finance topics.
• Podcasts Audio content subscription offering including discussions with industry leaders and market analysis for the municipal finance community.
• Events and Conferences Paid in-person and virtual conferences and summits serving the municipal finance community, including National Outlook, Texas Public Finance, Southeast Public Finance, TECH FORUM, Infrastructure, California Public Finance, and the Deal of the Year awards program.
• Deal of the Year Awards Annual awards program recognizing innovative financing transactions in the municipal bond market, with categories for public sector, private sector, and innovative financing.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• BloombergminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on BVAL (Bloomberg Valuation) curve integration for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA website to support fixed spread tax-exempt tender pricing methodology. Used in Wisconsin's pioneering $454.25 million fixed spread tax-exempt tender transaction.
• MSRB (Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Bloomberg to incorporate BVAL curve into EMMA website for transparent tax-exempt tender pricing, providing publicly available index for investors during Wisconsin's fixed spread tax-exempt tender.
• Morgan StanleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead underwriter for Wisconsin's $454.25 million fixed spread tax-exempt tender deal. Morgan Stanley team developed the fixed spread tax-exempt tender concept over several years and brought it to Wisconsin for execution.
• Public Resources Advisory Group (PRAG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal advisor on Wisconsin's pioneering fixed spread tax-exempt tender transaction. PRAG's Jessica Donnelly emphasized focus on getting clients the best economic outcome through careful tender pricing analysis.
• Foley & Lardner LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBond counsel for Wisconsin's fixed spread tax-exempt tender transaction. The deal required significant tax diligence across multiple bond issues, more complex than typical refundings.
• DebtBookminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTreasury and accounting software company providing sponsored content on strategic treasury management for The Bond Buyer's audience
• OrrickminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLaw firm providing sponsored content on energy as a service and municipal bonds, and recognized as top bond counsel in Q1-Q3 rankings
• MuniProminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner providing sponsored content on digital transformation for the municipal market through The Bond Buyer's resources section

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Reuters: Global financial news and data service that covers municipal bond issuance and policy. The Bond Buyer's own Southwest reporter previously worked at Reuters covering munis, reflecting overlapping beats and audience.
• S&P Global Market Intelligence: Provides municipal credit ratings, reference data, and analytics used by the same buy-side and issuer segments that subscribe to The Bond Buyer. Overlaps on ratings, research, and data products for muni market participants.
• Moody's Analytics: Supplies credit research, data, and analytics for the municipal bond market. Competes for the same institutional research and risk-management wallet as The Bond Buyer's data and intelligence modules.
• Refinitiv (LSEG): A large financial data and news provider serving capital-markets professionals, including municipal finance. Competes on terminal-grade data and news content consumed by the same institutional audience as The Bond Buyer.
• Financial Times: Premium subscription financial news brand targeting senior capital-markets professionals. Overlaps with The Bond Buyer's professional audience on public-finance, policy, and capital-markets coverage.
• Bloomberg News / Bloomberg Terminal: Operates the dominant financial data terminal and a large professional newsroom covering municipal bonds, including the BVAL curve referenced in The Bond Buyer's coverage. Competes in muni market data, news, and analytics with materially greater scale and a bundled platform.

Emerging players

• Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions: Provides regulatory and compliance information products to financial-services and municipal market participants. Adjacent competitor in the legal/compliance intelligence niche where The Bond Buyer offers Legal Intelligence.

Direct peers

• Municipal Market Analytics (MMA): A specialized research and data firm focused on the municipal bond market, founded by Tom Doe (a Bond Buyer Hall of Fame inductee). Competes directly with The Bond Buyer's Market Data Dashboard and Advisor Intelligence offerings for institutional muni research budgets.
• Debtwire Municipals (Acuris/Mergermarket): A specialist subscription news service focused on the U.S. municipal bond market, including high-yield munis. It is the most direct editorial competitor to The Bond Buyer's reporting franchise, with several Bond Buyer alumni (e.g., Caitlin Devitt) having worked there.

Others

• SourceMedia / Arizent sister titles: Other Arizent B2B media brands (e.g., American Banker, Financial Planning) operate under the same parent as The Bond Buyer, sharing back-office, ad sales, and event infrastructure, and occasionally cross-publishing relevant content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thebondbuyer
• Facebookfacebook.com/thebondbuyer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-bond-buyer

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Bond Buyer