New York Stock Exchange Sold for $8.2 Billion

NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX), the company that owns and operates the New York Stock Exchange, has been sold to IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE:ICE) in a cash and stock deal valued at $8.2 billion, financial media reported this morning.

ICE, a 12-year-old energy and commodity futures bourse based in Atlanta, will pay $33.12 a share for NYSE Euronext, which is a 38 percent premium to yesterday’s closing price, according to a press release posted on the NYSE website. Both companies’ boards have approved the deal and it is expected to close in the second half of 2013.

NYX was up $7.84, or 32.91 percent, as of 1 pm EST Thursday.

Bloomberg notes that last year the United States blocked a hostile bid by ICE and NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ:NDAQ) to acquire the world’s largest equities market “on concern the combination would dominate U.S. stock listings.”

ICE is the world’s second-largest futures market. “ICE’s futures exchanges list a diverse range of globally relevant benchmark futures and options contracts including agricultural, currency, emissions, energy and equity indexes,” the company states on its website.

Reuters reported that the tie-up would surpass Deutsche Boerse to become the world’s third-largest exchange group with a combined market value of $15.2 billion, thus rivalling CME Group, ICE’s main competitor, which is valued at $17.5 billion.

The world’s largest exchange group is Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX:0388), which has a market cap of $19.5 billion, Reuters notes.

CME Group owns and operates derivatives and futures exchanges in Chicago and New York City, including the Dow Jones stock and financial indexes and CME Clearing Services, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts.