Intercontinental Exchange ups stake in Euroclear | City A.M.

Intercontinental Exchange (Ice) has increased its stake in Euroclear, Europe’s biggest settlement house for securities, to 10 per cent.

The US-based firm bought more shares from members of the consortium of banks that own group, building its stake in the financial infrastructure group. The Financial Times first reported the purchase.

The Ice bought a €275m (£193m) stake in Euroclear from Royal Bank of Scotland in October in an effort to gain a foothold in Europe, where the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group and Deutsche Boerse are among the biggest players.

Read more: New York Stock Exchange owner ICE to buy RBS’ stake in Euroclear

The Ice has previously been linked with a move for the LSE as it tries to extend its global reach. That was stymied, however, by the attempted tie-up between the LSE and Deutsche Boerse, which later fell apart.

Analysts at UBS previously described Euroclear as a “hidden jewel” which would be a prime target for the LSE, before Ice swooped.

Euroclear, which says it holds assets worth €27.5 trillion for clients, settles domestic and cross-border securities transactions as well as acting as custodian for investments. The total value of securities transactions settled by the Euroclear group is over €675 trillion every year.

Euroclear and the Ice declined to comment.

Read more: UBS analysts back London Stock Exchange Group to buy this “hidden jewel”