Acquisition unites two complementary platforms in global fixed income, connecting institutional and retail investors through one integrated fixed income ecosystem spanning execution, data, indices, and analytics

Clients across more than 90 countries to benefit from deeper liquidity, lower transaction costs, and a seamless end-to-end workflow – from pre-trade analytics through post-trade settlement

Transaction expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share (EPS)¹ in the first year

ICE reaffirms plans for ongoing share repurchases

Intercontinental Exchange, one of the world’s leading providers of financial market technology and data powering global capital markets, announced a definitive agreement to acquire MarketAxess Holdings Inc., a preeminent electronic trading platform for global institutional fixed income markets. The combination will bring together two highly complementary businesses to form a more complete and connected fixed income platform.

MarketAxess connects approximately 2,100 institutional investors and broker-dealers across more than 90 countries, enabling electronic trading in corporate bonds, municipal bonds, emerging market debt, Eurobonds, U.S. Treasuries, and other fixed income instruments. Together with ICE’s established retail and wealth focused bond trading franchise, deep data and analytics capabilities, and global index business, the combined platform will serve every segment of the fixed income market through a single, unified ecosystem.

Under the terms of the agreement, ICE will acquire all outstanding shares of MarketAxess for $167 per share in cash, representing a 33% premium to MarketAxess’s closing price as of July 29, 2026, representing an equity value of approximately $6.0 billion and a total enterprise value of approximately $5.7 billion. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.

A defining moment for global fixed income markets

The global bond market – with an estimated $145.1 trillion in outstanding debt – has long been one of finance’s most fragmented and opaque areas. Despite decades of progress, fixed income trading remains disproportionately manual, bilateral, and information-asymmetric relative to equities and other asset classes, resulting in lower transparency, wider bid-ask spreads and higher transaction costs. ICE has spent years building the foundational infrastructure to change that: a comprehensive fixed income data and analytics platform, a leading retail bond marketplace, and a global index franchise, aggregating high-quality data to give investors a more complete view of where bonds are trading, where liquidity exists and what a fair price should be. MarketAxess brings the institutional trading network and leading electronic execution capabilities that complete the picture.

The combined company will offer clients a fully integrated workflow spanning pre-trade price discovery and analytics, multi-protocol electronic execution for both retail and institutional investors, and post-trade data, benchmarking, and compliance tools, all within a single connected platform. Traders of fixed income will have access to one global fixed income ecosystem, enabling them to benefit from consolidated liquidity, more competitive pricing, lower operating costs, and a materially improved trading experience.

“For more than two decades, ICE has pursued a clear and consistent strategy: take the largest, least-efficient corners of global finance and apply technology and network effects to improve transparency,” said Jeff Sprecher, ICE Chair and Chief Executive Officer. “That is what we did in energy, in credit default swaps, and in mortgage technology. Acquiring MarketAxess is the natural next step in that journey. Together, we will build the fixed income ecosystem that investors have always deserved – one that is transparent, efficient, fully connected, and accessible to all.”

“This transaction exemplifies the discipline and long-term perspective that define how ICE approaches capital allocation,” said Warren Gardiner, ICE Chief Financial Officer. “We are acquiring a high-quality, cash-generative business and this transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted EPS¹. Critically, our balance sheet strength allows us to finance this acquisition entirely in cash while maintaining our plans for returning capital to shareholders. We are confident the combination will generate substantial long-term value for ICE shareholders.”

“MarketAxess has built its business by helping solve customer needs in increasingly complex markets,” said Chris Concannon, Chief Executive Officer of MarketAxess. “What makes this combination so compelling is the complementary strengths each company brings. MarketAxess contributes a leading fixed-income trading network and deep market expertise, while ICE brings additional retail and wealth trading protocols, strong data, connectivity, and a broader set of product capabilities. Together, we will have the scale to invest more deeply in the areas that matter most to our customers.”

Strategic and financial benefits of the combination

• Creates a more complete fixed income marketplace. By combining MarketAxess’s deep institutional network with ICE’s retail bond franchise and data infrastructure, the combined platform will serve every category of fixed income participant through a single, unified ecosystem.

• Delivers a superior client experience. Clients will benefit from a consolidated liquidity pool, access to richer pre-trade analytics and price discovery, expanded trading protocols, and a seamless end-to-end workflow – translating directly into better execution quality and lower transaction costs.

• Accelerates ICE’s data and analytics leadership. MarketAxess’s proprietary trading data and analytics capabilities, combined with ICE’s existing fixed income pricing, reference data, and index business, will create one of the most comprehensive and differentiated fixed income data platforms in the world – a strategic asset of growing importance as passive investing and data-driven decision-making reshape markets.

Key transaction terms

• Purchase price of $167 per share in cash, representing a 33% premium to MarketAxess’s closing price as of July 29, 2026, for a total enterprise value of approximately $5.7 billion, or approximately ~10.6x MarketAxess LTM² EBITDA pro forma for full run-rate expense synergies

• 100% cash consideration financed via newly issued debt (a mix of bonds, term loan and commercial paper)

• ICE increases baseline share repurchases to $400 million per quarter from $350 million per quarter. Assumes beginning gross leverage of 3.4x, targeting a return to gross leverage of 3.0x or below within 18 to 24 months post-close, reflecting ICE’s strong balance sheet and free cash flow generation

• $100 million in annual run-rate expense synergies, expected to be fully realized within three years post-close

• Expected to be accretive to adjusted ICE EPS¹ in the first full year following close

Transaction unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies; expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to receipt of MarketAxess stockholder approval, applicable regulatory clearances, and customary closing conditions.

BofA Securities is serving as financial advisor to Intercontinental Exchange, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP are serving as legal advisors to Intercontinental Exchange. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as financial advisor to MarketAxess and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as legal advisor to MarketAxess.

Source: ICE