Key Areas Outlined For ICE/IPE Venture

In a jointly held press briefing today, IntercontinentalExchange CEO, Jeffrey Sprecher, and International Petroleum Exchange Chief Executive, Dr. Richard Ward, outlined the key areas they will be focusing on following the formal closing of ICE's offer for the IPE.

These key areas cover:

• Organization of the transition process including the integration of management functions.
• Implementation of the technology development programme involving electronic trading of IPE products.
• Development of clearing for OTC products which would utilize the clearing, settlement and netting facilities offered within the IPE's existing business structure.
• New product development taking maximum advantage of the synergies implicit in the new partnership.
• Expansion into targeted new markets, for example, Singapore and the Far East via ICE's new Singapore office.

"We are now prepared to move from the process of bidding for the IPE directly to the process of partnership with the IPE in developing and expanding this new venture", stated Jeff Sprecher. "We are particularly excited by the opportunity to utilize the strengths and expertise of the IPE's brokerage community to provide clearing services to the OTC energy markets in addition to exchange traded products the brokers have traditionally cleared."

"Given the overwhelming vote of confidence that our shareholders have just expressed, we believe there are great opportunities to expand both the product and geographical range of our new ventures," said Dr. Richard Ward. (It was reported yesterday that around 90% of IPE shareholders had tendered their shares to ICE.)