IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s (ICE) roughly $8.2 billion deal
to buy NYSE Euronext (NYX) includes a handful of potential
termination fees, granting one of the parties a sizeable windfall
if the acquisition were to fall apart.
On Thursday, NYSE Euronext agreed to be sold to ICE in a merger
that would vastly expand ICE's profile from an energy-focused
futures-market operator to a fully diversified exchange company
running stock, options, futures and trade-clearing services on both
sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Under certain scenarios, including if NYSE pursues a separate
offer, NYSE would be forced to pay ICE upwards of $450 million. In
other instances, including a willful and material breach of the
agreement by ICE, ICE would be required to pay NYSE up to $750
million.
Except under specific circumstances, neither company would be
required to pay the other more than $750 million in the aggregate
in the event of a break-up.
Shares of both companies are down about 2% premarket amid the
broader market's sharp weakness.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@dowjones.com
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