(Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange agreed an $8 billion deal to buy New York Stock Exchange owner NYSE Euronext on Thursday, propelling the commodities player into European financial futures and helping it to take on arch rival CME Group.
Atlanta-based ICE will look at selling Euronext, NYSE's European stock market businesses, in an initial public offering after the deal closes in the second half of next year.
The deal gives a 12-year old start-up ownership of the New York Stock Exchange, an iconic symbol of U.S. capitalism for over 200 years which has been hit by new technology and the rise of private trading venues run by Wall Street banks and brokers.
"Our transaction is responsive to the evolution of market infrastructure today and offers a range of growth opportunities," ICE Chairman and CEO Jeff Sprecher, who will be chairman and ceo of the combined group, said in a statement.
Atlanta-based ICE will look at selling Euronext, NYSE's European stock market businesses, in an initial public offering after the deal closes in the second half of next year.
The deal gives a 12-year old start-up ownership of the New York Stock Exchange, an iconic symbol of U.S. capitalism for over 200 years which has been hit by new technology and the rise of private trading venues run by Wall Street banks and brokers.
"Our transaction is responsive to the evolution of market infrastructure today and offers a range of growth opportunities," ICE Chairman and CEO Jeff Sprecher, who will be chairman and ceo of the combined group, said in a statement.