Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) is set to acquire financial data firm Interactive Data Corp. (IDC), for approximately US$5.2 billion in cash and stock, the companies announced on Monday.
ICE is buying Bedford, Mass.-based IDC from private equity firms, Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus, for US$3.65 billion in cash and US$1.55 billion in stock. The deal builds on its global market data growth strategy by expanding the markets it serves, adding technology platforms, and increasing its data and valuation services, the exchange says.
IDC provides financial data to the mutual fund, bank, asset management, hedge fund, securities and financial instrument processing and administration sectors. It will be combined with ICE’s data business that covers nine asset classes across the 11 exchanges and seven clearing houses the firm operates, including the NYSE and ICE Futures exchanges. The combined company will offer customers efficiencies in accessing data on an integrated platform, ICE says, and it will serve the growing demand for data, analysis, valuation and connectivity globally.
“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, IDC 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,” said Jeffrey Sprecher, ICE chairman and CEO, in a statement.
The deal, which was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close by yearend, subject to regulatory approvals. The firms expect to generate US$150 million worth of expense synergies by year three after closing the deal.