Intercontinental Exchange, a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire TMC Bonds LLC for $685 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to customary regulatory and anti-trust approvals, and is not expected to materially impact 2018 financial results or capital returns.

Established in 2000, TMC Bonds is a premier fixed income marketplace, supporting anonymous trading across multiple protocols, including click-to-trade and request-for-quote (RFQ) in various asset classes including Municipals, Corporates, Treasuries, Agencies and Certificates of Deposit.

“TMC Bonds will offer a new and complementary access point to liquidity for our customers and expand our portfolio of diverse solutions in the global fixed income markets across analytics, execution and post-trade,” said ICE President Benjamin Jackson. “As the fixed income markets continue to automate and migrate to electronic trading, ICE’s trading and data infrastructure offer customers more choices to access liquidity, conduct price discovery and manage risk in more efficient ways.”

“By leveraging both ICE’s expansive reach and breadth of data and analytics, TMC’s clients will have access to workflow solutions far superior to what’s currently available in the market,” added Thomas Vales, TMC’s Chief Executive Officer.

A respected leader in the municipal bond space, TMC Bonds will operate alongside ICE’s fixed income trading and data solutions.

ICE’s financial advisors were BofA Merrill Lynch and Citi and legal advisors were Shearman & Sterling LLP and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. TMC’s financial advisor was Broadhaven Capital Partners, LLC and legal advisor was WilmerHale.