Bloomberg stakes claim to government data business

Bloomberg LP, a company built on providing critical financial data to Wall Street investors, has acquired Eagle Eye Publishers as Bloomberg makes a move into the government market.

Eagle Eye provides data and analysis on contracting and grants actions by government agencies. Users are charged a subscription fee. Paul Murphy founded the company in 1986. Eagle also provided the data for the 2009 Washington Technology Top 100 rankings of the largest government contractors.

Murphy could not be reached for comment.

Mark Amtower first reported the rumor earlier today on his Amtower B2G blog.  Bloomberg officials confirmed the acquisition when contacted by Washington Technology, but would comment on the value of the deal or expand on Bloomberg’s strategy in the government space.

However, rumors have swirled in recent months about Bloomberg wanting to create a Bloomberg Government business to be named Bgov. The enterprise will compete with the likes of Congressional Quarterly, but with a focus on how government actions impact publicly traded companies.

Bgov also would potentially compete with research firms Input and Fedsources, both of which provide similar data services as Eagle Eye.