Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has acquired data, analytics and valuation service provider SuperDerivatives in a US$350 million cash deal.
ICE continues to grow its business through aggressive M&A activity, with the latest move enhancing the group’s market clearing and data capabilities.
Following the takeover of NYSE Euronext 2013, ICE disbanded a number of technology segments of the firm, including market data provider Wombat. The addition of SuperDerivatives will now add to ICE’s existing data capabilities, along with the retained NYSE technology departments.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
“SuperDerivatives is an innovative developer of valuable derivatives data and technology, and will play a key role in extending our financial market clearing and data capabilities,” said Jeffrey Sprecher, ICE Chairman and CEO.
“We already work with SuperDerivatives in our existing businesses and we look forward to extending that work with the global SuperDerivatives team as we grow our risk management services across our global exchanges and clearing houses.”
ICE has grown its presence in the financial markets exponentially over the past two years through a range of takeovers.
Along with NYSE Euronext, the group also acquired the Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) and its clearing house, energy exchange Endex and took over as the administrator of both ISDAFIX and Libor benchmark rates.
The exchange also continues to branch out with compliance and workflow tools such as ICE Trade Vault and ICE Link, and in August acquired intellectual property rights relating to computerised trading strategies.
“Over the past few years ICE has taken the lead in shaping the evolution of the financial markets,” said David Gershon, chairman and CEO, SuperDerivatives.
“We strongly believe that with the data, technology and the broad suite of products SuperDerivatives offers there are great benefits we can deliver to the market including efficiency, transparency and innovation.”
ICE’s exchange rivals CME Group, also made a significant acquisition last month, purchasing energy trading platform Trayport, and FX options analytics and pricing suite FENICS from GFI Group for US$655 million.
Despite driving its own period of growth through the takeovers of the Chicago Board of Trade, New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX throughout 2007 and 2008, the major acquisition headlines of the past two years have belonged to ICE.