ICE Spent ‘Almost $300M’ Serving to Bakkt Purchase Loyalty Agency Bridge2

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ICE Spent ‘Almost $300M’ Serving to Bakkt Purchase Loyalty Agency Bridge2

Intercontinental Alternate, the dad or mum firm to Bakkt, spent near $300 million serving to the bitcoin warehouse purchase loyalty rewards supplie


Intercontinental Alternate, the dad or mum firm to Bakkt, spent near $300 million serving to the bitcoin warehouse purchase loyalty rewards supplier Bridge2 Options, CEO Jeffrey Sprecher mentioned Thursday.

The revelation got here throughout a dialogue of the monetary energy of ICE, the dad or mum firm to a number of main buying and selling venues, embrace the New York Inventory Alternate.

Sprecher mentioned throughout ICE’s Q1 earnings name that the corporate had “opportunistically repurchased shares,” spending $300 million at $92 per share through the quarter whereas sustaining the corporate’s leverage, measured because the ratio of debt to earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBIDTA).

“We additionally spent almost $300 million serving to Bakkt to accumulate Bridge2 options,” Sprecher mentioned. “But our leverage was nonetheless at 2.three instances which is an entire testomony to the energy of the money flows of this enterprise.”

Bakkt introduced it might purchase Bridge2 in February, whereas concurrently elevating a $300 million Sequence B funding spherical. The spherical closed final month, as did the acquisition. The phrases of the deal have been outlined in ICE’s quarterly submitting with the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee, additionally launched Thursday.

It is unclear whether or not the $300 million represents the entire sum of the acquisition, or how a lot got here from Bakkt’s Sequence B funders, which embrace Microsoft’s M12, PayU, Boston Consulting Group, Goldfinch Companions, CMT Digital and Pantera Capital. The corporate did say in its February press launch that a few of the funds from the spherical would go towards the acquisition.

Apart from two references to Bridge2, Bakkt was not talked about through the earnings name. No analysts requested any direct questions concerning the subsidiary, which has been facilitating buying and selling of bitcoin futures and choices contracts over the previous a number of months.

Nor have been there any questions on Mike Blandina, who stepped down as Bakkt’s CEO final week simply 4 months after taking the reigns. Blandina was succeeded on an interim foundation by ICE’s vice chairman for M&A and integration, David Clifton. There has to this point been no phrase a everlasting alternative CEO.

The shortage of questions is available in stark distinction to ICE’s final earnings name in February, when a number of analysts requested about ICE’s position with Bakkt. That decision got here proper after ICE introduced it was buying Bridge2, and Sprecher mentioned on the time that the transfer may open up a possible $1 trillion market.

Bakkt is engaged on its consumer-focused app. The corporate has rolled out an integration with Starbucks, permitting a few of the espresso chain’s app customers to pay for caffeine utilizing “Bakkt Money.”

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