Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is set to acquire Interactive Data Corporation, a provider of financial market data and analytics solutions.
The exchange will purchase Interactive Data from Silver Lake, a technology investment firm, and Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm specialising in growth investing, for a total of about $5.2 billion; $3.65 billion in cash and $1.55 billion in ICE common stock.
The acquisition is intended to build on ICE’s global market data growth strategy by expanding the markets served, adding new technology platforms and increasing new data and valuation services.
Combined, the two firms intend to provide efficient access to data through an integrated platform, while also meeting demand for data, analysis, valuation and connectivity services globally.
Interactive Data provides financial data services for mutual funds, banks, asset managers and hedge funds, and within the securities processing and administration sectors. ICE’s data business currently covers nine asset classes across its 11 exchanges and seven clearinghouses.
ICE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said: "This transaction furthers our expansion into meeting the financial information needs of our market participants globally. With our diverse markets across virtually all asset classes, Interactive Data Corporation will enable us to address more growth opportunities by leveraging the distribution and reach of our complementary global platforms for trading, clearing and data on a combined basis."
Stephen Daffron, CEO of Interactive Data Corporation, added: "With ICE, we have the long-term capital, strategic support and collective set of relationships to further grow our company and evolve our platform in the rapidly-changing capital markets landscape.”
Terms of the transaction were unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, and the deal is expected to close by the end of 2015, subject to regulatory approval.
