Two months since initially announcing a definitive agreement to acquire the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE) in Canada, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) says that an amended agreement is in place and that it expects to complete the transaction by the end of this quarter.
Atlanta-based ICE said the purchase price is $50 million Canadian ($47.2 million U.S.), or $77.59 Canadian per common share, for WCE Holdings, which in addition to the flagship commodity market consists of WCE Clearing Corp., the Canadian Climate Exchange and WCE Industry Services Corp.
WCE is to become a wholly owned ICE subsidiary, pending approvals by the shareholders of the Canadian market and its primary regulator, the Manitoba Securities Commission.
“This franchise brings to ICE a Canadian-based regulated futures exchange and clearinghouse from which we can develop additional derivative trading and clearing opportunities based on the Canadian markets, which are rich in natural resources,” says ICE chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Sprecher.