Shearman & Sterling is advising long-time client IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) on the European regulatory and European antitrust aspects of its proposed acquisition of NYSE Euronext in a transaction valued at $8.2 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, the transaction is currently valued at $33.12 per NYSE Euronext share, or a total of approximately $8.2 billion, based on the closing price of ICE’s stock on December 19, 2012.
In recent years, Shearman & Sterling has advised ICE on many of its most significant transactions, including: the formation of ICE Clear Europe; the acquisition of The Clearing Corporation (TCC) and the successful application of ICE US Trust, LLC to become a member of the Federal Reserve System; approvals for TCC and ICE Trust to serve as a clearing house and central counterparty for the clearing of credit default swap transactions; the acquisition of Climate Exchange plc; the acquisition of a 12.4 percent stake in Brazilian clearing firm Cetip; the acquisition of a 79.12 percent interest in the derivatives and spot natural gas business of APX-Endex from N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, the European gas infrastructure company; and other transactions.
“We are proud to have been part of ICE’s growth and success from the very start,” said Barney Reynolds, global head of Shearman & Sterling’s financial institutions and regulatory practice.
IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) is a leading operator of regulated exchanges and clearing houses serving the risk management needs of global markets for agricultural, credit, currency, emissions, energy and equity index products. ICE serves customers in more than 70 countries.
NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies. The company’s exchanges in Europe and the United States trade equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products. With approximately 8,000 listed issues (excluding European Structured Products), NYSE Euronext’s equities markets—the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, NYSE MKT, NYSE Alternext and NYSE Arca—represent one-third of the world’s equities trading, the most liquidity of any global exchange group.
The Shearman & Sterling team includes partner Barney Reynolds and counsel Azad Ali (financial institutions and regulatory), partner Matthew Readings (antitrust), partner Iain Scoon (tax), counsel Sam Whitaker (employment and benefits), associates Anna Doyle and Mak Judge (financial institutions and regulatory), associates Collette Rawnsley and George Milton (antitrust) and associate Jack Prytherch (tax).
