ICE ices other exchanges in picking up major market data provider

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has agreed to buy market data provider Interactive Data Corporation (IDC) from its private equity owners for $5.2 billion in cash and stock from Silver Lake and Warburg Incus. Bringing together a large exchange complex like ICE and approximately the third largest provider of market data is a very interesting merger, but ultimately makes a lot of sense. The need for market data is increasing across asset classes, and this is a particularly good fit for ICE given that it trades in so many of the commodity, equity and fixed income products. The synergies for an exchange in acquiring a major market data is strategically logical as exchanges rely more and more on market data in their revenue models. One area given the strength ICE has in credit brokerage and clearing, and the increased move to electronic trading across fixed income products, is the IDC continuous pricing tool which is becoming an important part of the means of pricing bonds in an increasingly electronic world.