ICE makes $8.2B play for NYSE

ATLANTA, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The IntercontinentalExchange said it has reached an $8.2 billion agreement to buy New York Stock Exchange, a market icon.

The deal would enable ICE, a 12-year old firm with its headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., to expand its derivatives business and its image, as the New York Stock Exchange is a symbol of New York and even U.S. financial prowess, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday.

The merger is subject to regulatory approval. For ICE, it would be the second attempt to get a purchase offer for the stock exchange past regulators.

ICE made a joint $11 billion bid for NYSE Euronext in April 2011 with NASDAQ. But U.S. regulators indicated they would not approve and the offer was canceled.

NYSE Euronext also struck a tentative deal with Deutsche Boerse that was valued at $10 billion, but that deal also fell through, the newspaper said.