ICE to acquire MarketAxess for $167 per share in cash, about $6.0 billion equity value
On July 29, 2026, Intercontinental Exchange agreed to acquire MarketAxess Holdings for $167 per share in cash, a 33% premium to MarketAxess's July 29 closing price, for an equity value of about $6.0 billion and an enterprise value of about $5.7 billion. ICE plans to fund the deal with newly issued debt and cash, with a bridge facility of up to $6.25 billion as backup, and the company also raised its baseline quarterly share repurchases. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to MarketAxess stockholder approval and regulatory clearances.
Key points
- $167 per share in cash, a 33% premium to the July 29, 2026 closing price; equity value about $6.0 billion, enterprise value about $5.7 billion
- Financing: 100% cash consideration via newly issued debt; Bank of America bridge facility of up to $6.25 billion as backup
- ICE raises baseline share repurchases to $400 million per quarter from $350 million; gross leverage of 3.4x at start, targeted at 3.0x or below within 18 to 24 months after close
- $100 million in annual run-rate expense synergies expected within three years of close; expected to close in the first half of 2027
The filing
Written by AI (Anthropic Claude, claude-haiku-5-5) on Nov 8, 2026, 1:21 AM ET, from the text of the filing and its press-release exhibits only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on July 30, 2026.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text (each brief's own page names the model) and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the model's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.