ICE Considers Appeal After U.K.'s CMA Requires Trayport Sale

(RTTNews) - Intercontinental Exchange Inc. said that it will consider appealing the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority's decision to require the exchange operator to sell its Trayport unit.

Earlier, the CMA said it has decided that ICE should sell Trayport to preserve competition in wholesale energy trading.

"Having looked at this in detail and sought views from a range of market participants, we believe that the only effective way to preserve competition is to require ICE to sell Trayport," said Simon Polito, Inquiry Chair.

Intercontinental Exchange acquired Trayport Inc. in December 2015. ICE is the largest operator of exchanges and clearinghouses in the trading of wholesale European utilities. Trayport's software products form an integrated platform which underpins around 85% of European utilities trading.

The Competition and Markets Authority group of independent panel members investigating the merger has published its final decision today. It found that traders, and the brokers, exchanges and clearinghouses that compete with ICE in the trading and clearing of European utilities, depend on the Trayport platform to carry out these activities effectively.

The CMA found that ICE could use its ownership of Trayport's platform to reduce competition between itself and its rivals which could lead to increased fees for execution and clearing, and worse terms offered to traders. The CMA also found that the merger would likely result in a loss of competition between ICE and its rivals to launch new products, find innovative trading solutions and enter markets with new offerings.