ICE plans Euronext float

Intercontinental Exchange Group plans to float stockmarket operator Euronext through an IPO in the coming weeks.

Euronext shares will initially trade on the stockmarkets in Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, with a listing added in Lisbon before the fourth quarter.

The offer will only be made to retail investors in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Portugal.

ICE acquired Euronext in November as part of its $11 billion (£6.54 billion) takeover of the New York Stock Exchange operator, NYSE Euronext. It has always made it clear that it is not interested in developing the European assets of the company.

Before the IPO, the Atlanta-based company will sell a 33% stake in Euronext to a group of institutional investors, which include banks such as ABN Amro Bank, BNP Paribas SA and Banco Espirito Santo SA, at a discount to the IPO price provided they retain the shares for three years. No details about the IPO pricing were available.

Euronext listed as its strengths that it is the premier listing venue in continental Europe as ranked by IPO values for 2013, and the only pan European exchange with a harmonised regulatory framework, a single order book for its exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels and a single trading platform. It said it plans to expand its services related to listings, cash trading, derivatives and information services.

Euronext plans to pursue product innovation, further asset class diversification and the expansion of its business activities.

Dominique Cerutti, chief executive of Euronext said: "Euronext is at the centre of three converging trends, all of which create real opportunities for us as an independent exchange group.

"An increased desire for transparency, a new level of demand for diverse sources of capital and the emerging economic recovery in Europe are driving more activity onto regulated exchanges and position Euronext well."

Euronext now includes all the operations of Euronext that existed prior to the separation with the exception of the London-based Liffe derivatives exchange and related market data services.

The IT services supporting Liffe's exchanges will be terminated once Liffe has completed its migration to ICE's technology platform, expected by the end of 2014.

Euronext has also applied for regulatory approval to operate a recognised exchange in London.