ICE CEO says on lookout for deals

By Paritosh Bansal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is looking for acquisition opportunities, but doesn't see itself as an easy target for a buyer, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

ICE is trying to grow in regions such as emerging markets as well as trading in contracts based on promising assets like energy, agriculture and metals, Chief Executive Jeffrey Sprecher said at the Reuters Exchanges and Trading Summit.

"We are constantly talking to exchanges," Sprecher said. "We are known as a company that can do deals and also successfully integrate business and grow."

Atlanta-based ICE, which was formed in May 2000, has used acquisitions as a way to grow. ICE, which now has a market capitalization of nearly $12 billion, bought the New York Board of Trade in January 2007 and the Winnipeg Commodities Exchange in August 2007.

The company, whose shares have surged 43 percent over the past three months, now operates three regulated futures exchanges, a global over-the-counter marketplace for energy products and two clearing houses.

But it is now also one of the few independent markets left after exchanges worldwide went on a buying spree to expand into new markets. Some analysts said the company could be a possible acquisition target itself after CME Group (CME.N: Quote, Profile, Research) struck a deal in March to acquire energy derivatives exchange NYMEX.

But Sprecher said ICE is not an easy company to buy.

"ICE has been a very desirable company for years," Sprecher said. "If your shareholders have an opportunity to participate in growth, it's hard for a third party to say they can do more economically through M&A."  Continued...