Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, has launched a U.S. investment-grade bond sale of up to five tranches maturing in three to 10 years to help finance its planned acquisition of MarketAxess Holdings, replacing earlier bridge financing with longer-term debt. ICE announced on July 30 that it would buy MarketAxess in an all-cash deal at $167 a share, a 33% premium to the July 29 close, valuing the transaction at about $6 billion and the enterprise at an estimated $5.7 billion. The takeover would expand ICE's reach in electronic and fixed-income markets by combining its bond data, analytics, retail and wealth platforms with MarketAxess's institutional network of about 2,100 clients in more than 90 countries. ICE expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027 subject to regulatory approval, to add to adjusted earnings per share in the first full year after closing, and to deliver $100 million of annual run-rate synergies within three years. The company also raised its quarterly share repurchase target to $400 million from $350 million after announcing the transaction.