MarketAxess stockholders approve merger with ICE at special meeting

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX) stockholders approved the company's merger agreement with Intercontinental Exchange Inc. at a special meeting on Oct. 29, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The merger agreement is dated July 29, 2026, and involves MarketAxess, Intercontinental Exchange and Igloo Merger Sub II, Inc. Under its terms, Merger Sub will merge with and into MarketAxess, which will survive as a wholly owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange.

As of the Sept. 16, 2026 record date, 35,197,197 shares of common stock were outstanding. A total of 28,314,282 shares, representing about 80.4% of the voting power, were present virtually or by proxy, which constituted a quorum.

The merger agreement proposal received 28,241,324 votes for, 34,133 against and 38,825 abstentions. The company said the proposal was approved by the requisite vote of its stockholders.

A non-binding advisory proposal on compensation for named executive officers that is based on or relates to the merger drew 28,011,448 votes for, 291,308 against and 11,526 abstentions. That proposal was voted on separately from the merger itself.

The adjournment proposal, which would allow the meeting to be moved to a later date if needed, drew 26,975,539 votes for, 1,308,994 against and 29,749 abstentions. The filing describes it as a fallback to supplement the proxy statement or solicit additional proxies in favor of the merger agreement.

The company's definitive proxy statement was filed on Sept. 18, 2026, according to the filing.

The merger remains subject to the remaining customary closing conditions and approvals, including other required regulatory approvals, the company said. It expects the merger to close in the first quarter of 2027.