Shares of NYSE Owner Slide on Fresh eBay Deal Jitters

By Alexander Osipovich 

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. dropped 5.5% on Thursday after it failed to tamp down investors' jitters that it could pursue a costly acquisition of eBay Inc.

Speaking to analysts, ICE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sprecher reiterated the company's previous statement that no such deal was imminent and that eBay had rebuffed ICE's overtures.

But he also discussed at length why ICE -- best known as the owner of the New York Stock Exchange -- was interested in the e-commerce platform, outlining what could be seen as a rationale for the deal.

"We both match buyers and sellers," Mr. Sprecher said on a fourth-quarter earnings call. "We both collect and organize data. We both work with third parties to provide physical distribution. We both provide useful analytics to enhance the transaction experience."

The comments were Mr. Sprecher's first public remarks on eBay since The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that ICE had approached the e-commerce platform about a possible deal. The news has sparked a selloff in Atlanta-based ICE's stock, as investors have questioned the strategic value and potential cost of the transaction.

Since Monday's close, ICE's share price has sunk 12%, wiping out more than $6 billion of the company's market capitalization. ICE is now worth about $50 billion, while eBay's market cap is around $30 billion.

EBay's shares gained 3.3% after Mr. Sprecher's remarks on the earnings call, which took place before markets opened Thursday,

ICE reported fourth-quarter earnings of 95 cents a share and net revenue of $1.3 billion, in line with analysts' expectations.

Write to Alexander Osipovich at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2020 14:26 ET (19:26 GMT)

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