Intercontinental Exchange agreed to acquire electronic bond-trading platform MarketAxess Holdings for $167 a share in cash, representing an equity value of approximately $6 billion, the companies said Thursday.
ICE will pay $167 a share in cash for MarketAxess, a 33% premium to its closing price on Wednesday
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Intercontinental Exchange agreed to acquire electronic bond-trading platform MarketAxess Holdings for $167 a share in cash, representing an equity value of approximately $6 billion, the companies said Thursday.
The purchase price represents a 33% premium over where MarketAxess shares finished trading on Wednesday. MarketAxess stock jumped roughly 28% before the opening bell Thursday, while ICE stock was up slightly. The total enterprise value of the deal is approximately $5.7 billion.
ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, said the deal would unify the entire fixed-income trading lifecycle onto one platform, spanning price discovery and analytics before a trade through to electronic execution and compliance tools once it settles. MarketAxess operates a network of roughly 2,100 institutional investors and broker-dealers spanning more than 90 countries, with instruments ranging from corporate and municipal bonds to emerging market debt, Eurobonds, and U.S. Treasuries.
"Together, we will build the fixed-income ecosystem that investors have always deserved — one that is transparent, efficient, fully connected, and accessible to all," ICE Chair and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sprecher said in a statement.
ICE said it will finance the deal entirely with newly issued debt, using a mix of bonds, a term loan, and commercial paper. The company said the transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after closing. ICE also said it is increasing its baseline share repurchases to $400 million per quarter from $350 million per quarter, and expects to return to a gross leverage ratio of 3.0x or below within 18 to 24 months after the deal closes.
The companies expect $100 million in annual run-rate expense savings, to be realized within three years of closing. Both boards have signed off on the transaction, which is targeted to close in the first half of 2027, subject to approval from MarketAxess shareholders and customary regulatory sign-offs.
MarketAxess Chief Executive Officer Chris Concannon said in a statement that the combination brings together complementary capabilities. "MarketAxess brings a premier fixed-income trading network and deep market expertise to the table, and ICE adds retail and wealth trading protocols, robust data and connectivity, and a wider range of product capabilities," he said.
BofA Securities is advising ICE on the transaction, with Sullivan & Cromwell and Morgan, Lewis and Bockius serving as legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities is advising MarketAxess, with Weil, Gotshal & Manges as legal counsel.
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