Silver Lake to Buy Out ICE’s Stake in Euroclear

Silver Lake, one of the largest investors in the technology space, has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to buy out its 9.85% stake in Euroclear for a sum of EUR709 million.

Euroclear is a Belgium-based provider of post-trade settlement services for securities and is also involved in custody, collateral management, and fund management as well with over EUR35 trillion in assets under management. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2022. It is indeed a bit of a surprise that ICE would want to exit at a time when the markets are booming and experts expect a lot of capital flow into the markets in Europe after the exit of Britain from the Euro region. This is expected to place some pressure on the European financial authorities to route the capital investments into the capital markets in Europe from London and this is expected to benefit the exchanges in Europe in the long term.

Christian Lucas, Co-Head of Silver Lake EMEA, said: “We are thrilled to become a shareholder of Euroclear. We have been highly impressed by the company’s achievements over the years, continuously strengthening Euroclear’s positioning as a global leader in vital post-trade, collateral management, fund management, and data services as well as the company’s crucial importance overall to the efficient functioning of financial markets in Europe and around the world. As a leading technology investor, we look forward to contributing to Euroclear’s future growth, which is more than ever driven by innovation.”

Silver Lake continues to invest in strong trading-related businesses and this is one more in their set of investments this year. It has over $88 billion in combined assets under management and has offices in North America, Asia, and Europe as well.

“We have great respect for Euroclear and its leadership team, have seen the critical services and sustainable infrastructure it provides to our industry, and it has been a successful investment for ICE,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, ICE Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. “Going forward, Euroclear will have an outstanding long-term partner and shareholder in Silver Lake with its deep knowledge and experience in financial and technology investments.”

ICE operates the NYSE as well as several clearinghouses helping traders and investors to invest, manage their risk and raise capital across a variety of asset classes.