ICE to buy NYSE Euronext

摘要

FIRING the next shot in the battle for derivatives trading supremacy, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced Dec. 20 that it would acquire NYSE Euronext in a stock and cash transaction valued at $8.2 billion. While CME Group remains the 800 lb.gorilla in the market, the proposed acquisition has analysts pegging ICE as the player to watch moving forward. Mergers and acquisitions are again en vogue as corporations are flush with cash and looking for growth opportunities (Feedstuffs, Nov. 12). CME has made an art form of buying up exchanges that complement its core businesses over the past decade, acquiring the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in 2007, the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in 2008 and the Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) earlier this year.