NYSE Euronext to be Acquired by ICE

Shares of NYSE Euronext

traded up sharply higher on Thursday after it was announced that the company would be acquired by IntercontientalExchange for $8.2 billion in cash and stock, or $33.12 per share. In the pre-market, the NYSE traded up over 40 percent to $33.77. The NYSE has been in play for some time, but regulators repeatedly rejected a series of deals that would see the company acquired. Most recently, ICE along with the Nasdaq

attempted to acquire the NYSE and split up its business units among them. The Department of Justice rejected that bid. Prior to that, NYSE was was going to be acquired by Germany's Deutsche Borse, a deal that was also rejected on regulatory grounds. Still, the deal with ICE in its current form seems more likely to go through given that the companies' business models are more varied -- ICE's focus is on futures contracts and energy markets.