IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange for $40 million.

The transaction is proceeding by way of plan of arrangement and is subject to approval of WCE shareholders, approval of the Manitoba Securities Commission, and other customary conditions.

When the deal closes, WCE will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICE. ICE expects to close the transaction in the third quarter of 2007. ICE says it will maintain all existing WCE staff at the location in Winnipeg under the terms of the agreement.

ICE notes that the WCE currently has an electronic trading services agreement with the Chicago Board of Trade. The exchange owns its own clearing house, as well as a physical delivery structure for its commodity products. Subject to any necessary regulatory approvals, ICE expects to transition trading in WCE’s markets to the ICE electronic platform and to transition the clearing systems to ICE Clear US, within the WCE Clearing Corporation regulatory framework. The transition of WCE’s markets to ICE’s electronic trading platform and conversion to ICE Clear technology platform is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter.

“We are pleased to announce this agreement with Canada’s leading regulated agriculture exchange as we continue the expansion of ICE global futures and over-the-counter markets,” said ICE chairman and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, in a news release. “The addition of Winnipeg’s markets further enhances our agricultural product offering. This franchise brings to ICE a Canadian-based regulated futures exchange and clearing house from which we can develop additional derivative trading and clearing opportunities based on the Canadian markets, which are rich in natural resources. We look forward to working with the Canadian staff and regulatory authorities to close this transaction.”

ICE notes that the WCE Canola futures contract is the leading canola contract in the world, with 2.6 million contracts traded last year. The WCE also trades Western Barley futures and Feed Wheat futures.