ICE to Acquire TMC Bonds for $685m In Cash
Intercontinental Exchange has announced that it has agreed to acquire TMC Bonds LLC for $685 million in cash. The transaction will allow the leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses
Intercontinental Exchange has announced that it has agreed to acquire TMC Bonds LLC for $685 million in cash. The transaction will allow the leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services to add the premier fixed income marketplace to its fixed-income trading solutions.
TMC Bonds was established in 2000 to support anonymous trading of fixed income instruments across multiple protocols, including click-to-trade and request-for-quote (RFQ) in various asset classes including Municipals, Corporates, Treasuries, Agencies and Certificates of Deposit.
Benjamin Jackson, President of Intercontinental Exchange, commented on the acquisition:
“TMC Bonds will offer a new and complementary access point to liquidity for our customers and expand our portfolio of diverse solutions in the global fixed income markets across analytics, execution, and post-trade. As the fixed income markets continue to automate and migrate to electronic trading, ICE’s trading and data infrastructure offer customers more choices to access liquidity, conduct price discovery and manage risk in more efficient ways.”
Thomas Vales, Chief Executive Officer of TMC Bonds, said:
“By leveraging both ICE’s expansive reach and breadth of data and analytics, TMC’s clients will have access to workflow solutions far superior to what’s currently available in the market.”
The premier fixed income marketplace is a respected leader in the municipal bond space and will operate alongside ICE’s fixed-income trading and data solutions.
The $685 million deal was advised by BofA Merrill Lynch and Citi for financial matters and Shearman & Sterling LLP and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, for legal matters. TMC Bonds was advised by Broadhaven Capital Partners, LLC for financial matters and WilmerHale for legal matters.
Subject to customary regulatory and anti-trust approvals, the transaction is expected to be closed in the second half of 2018.
Earlier in May, Intercontinental Exchange reported financial results for Q1 2018 that include net income of $464 million on $1.2 billion of consolidated revenues less transaction-based expenses.
The first quarter performance produced enough revenue growth, margin expansion, and cash flow to allow a dividend distribution of nearly $540 million to stockholders through April, up 28% compared to the prior year.
Reporting by Rick Steves. Filed 30 May 2018, 04:53 GMT.
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011.
