Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) is making an acquisition designed to further its move into digital asset markets. The move follows a failed attempt to forge a deal with tech giant eBay Inc.
ICE announced that it has reached a deal for a provider of customer loyalty solutions, Bridge2 Solutions Inc., which will be combined with ICE’s digital asset division, Bakkt LLC.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“When Bridge2 Solutions ultimately joins Bakkt, the strategic combination will accelerate the development of the Bakkt consumer application, which will provide digital asset aggregation, conversion and payments through a single platform for consumers around the world,” ICE stated in a release.
“With the launch of the Bakkt app,” said Mike Blandina, CEO of Bakkt, “we will, for the first time, offer consumers a robust platform to consolidate and use all of their digital assets, from crypto to loyalty points to in game tokens, in one user-friendly wallet.
“Combining Bridge2 Solutions’ embedded relationships with banks and merchants and their innovative Loyalty Pay solution will enable us to launch new products that further drive loyalty and empower consumers to trade, transfer and spend digital assets in entirely new ways,” he added.
The global exchange giant issued a statement confirming that it considered a possible transaction involving eBay.
“ICE approached eBay to explore a range of potential opportunities that might create value for the shareholders of both companies,” the firm said.
“eBay has not engaged in a meaningful way. We are not in negotiations regarding the sale of all or part of eBay,” it added.