Report: ICE may sell 30% of Euronext prior to IPO

• IntercontinentalExchange (ICE +0.4%) is looking to spin off Euronext after acquiring it as part of the NYSE purchase, but European regulators are requiring ICE to keep a 25% stake in the exchange for three years unless it can find investors prepared to hold stakes for the long term, reports Bloomberg.
• Euronext values itself in the area of $2-$2.4B according to sources.
• Talks with potential investors - European banks, fund managers - look set to start imminently, but no single investor will allowed more than a 10% stake without going through a lengthy regulatory approval process. The size of the stake to be sold in the IPO hasn't been determined, but sources say it could be for as much as 50%.