Intercontinental Exchange launches $6B bond sale to fund MarketAxess takeover

Intercontinental Exchange, the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, has kicked off a multi-tranche US investment-grade bond offering to bankroll its roughly $6 billion acquisition of MarketAxess. The bond sale, which replaces a previously arranged bridge loan, marks one of the larger corporate debt issuances of 2026 and underscores just how serious ICE is about reshaping how bonds get traded. The offering consists of up to five parts with maturities ranging from three to ten years. It’s the financial plumbing behind a deal that could fundamentally change the fixed-income landscape, a market where roughly $145 trillion in debt is outstanding globally. Inside the deal ICE announced on July 30 that it would acquire MarketAxess Holdings in an all-cash transaction at $167 per share. That price represents a 33% premium over MarketAxess’s closing price on July 29, putting the total deal value at approximately $6 billion and the enterprise value at an estimated $5.7 billion. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals. ICE projects the deal will be accretive to its adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after closing. O...