By Pritam Biswas
July 30 (Reuters) - New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange said on Thursday it will acquire bond trading platform MarketAxess Holdings in a deal valued at $5.7 billion aimed at bolstering its fixed-income footprint.
Under the terms of the acquisition, ICE will buy all outstanding shares of the trading platform for $167 each in cash, the exchange operator said, which is a 33% premium to its previous closing price.
MarketAxess shares jumped nearly 30%, while ICE shares were
marginally up, after it also beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit, boosted by trading activity.
ICE shares have lost nearly 5% so far in 2026, as bourse operator stocks broadly were hit by fears that perpetual futures - contracts without expiration dates - could divert trading activity from traditional exchanges and eventually expand into equities.
RBC Capital Markets analysts said "the acquisition positions ICE to capitalize on the surge in fixed-income trading activity," while also helping shift investor focus away from concerns like perpetual futures, elevated mortgage rates and GenAI that have weighed on the stock.
ICE said the combined entity will offer a single platform for fixed-income traders, combining pre-trade price analytics, electronic execution and post-trade compliance tools — one that CEO Jeff Sprecher said will be "transparent, efficient, fully connected and accessible to all."
The company's fixed-income and data services segment posted an 8% jump in revenue in the reported quarter.
ICE, A LOGICAL BUYER
The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2027 pending regulatory approval, will be funded through newly issued bonds, a term loan and commercial paper. It will be accretive to ICE's adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after close.
Analysts say that ICE is the most "logical buyer" for MarketAxess given its retail bond trading platforms and fixed income data business. Raymond James analysts expect the transaction to easily secure regulatory approval.
M&A activities in the U.S. have surged in recent months amid strong markets and a lenient regulatory environment. The value of announced deals hit $2.8 trillion in the first half of the year, the highest year-to-date total since LSEG records began in 1980.
ICE RESULTS ROBUST
ICE's results were boosted by volatility from the U.S.-Iran war and shifting interest rate and AI expectations, as investors hedged.
Prolonged conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East also drove oil-market volatility, fueling growth in ICE's energy segment, though the second quarter saw a 13% revenue drop in the segment.
That hedging pushed interest rates average daily volume up 24% year over year, while agriculture and metals volumes rose 36%.
In the quarter, revenue in its exchanges segment, its biggest revenue generator, rose 3% to $1.46 billion. Mortgage technology revenue rose 5% in the second quarter.
Adjusted net income attributable to ICE shareholders came in at $1.90 per share in the three months ended June 30. Analysts were expecting a profit of $1.84 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Vijay Kishore)
