ICE backs away from bid for London Stock Exchange


              Specialist Jay Woods, right, works at the post that handles Intercontinental Exchange on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Intercontinental Exchange is jettisoning plans to acquire the London Stock Exchange and reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, and said it would pay its dividend next month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Jay Woods, right, works at the post that handles Intercontinental Exchange on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Intercontinental Exchange is jettisoning plans to acquire the London Stock Exchange and reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, and said it would pay its dividend next month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

ATLANTA (AP) - Intercontinental Exchange has jettisoned plans to acquire the London Stock Exchange.

Since the owner of the New York Stock Exchange first revealed two months ago that it was pursuing a buyout, German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange announced a $30 billion merger. ICE said Wednesday that it didn't receive enough engagement from the London Stock Exchange to determine if the deal would make sense.

Also on Wednesday, Intercontinental Exchange Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and said it would pay its dividend next month.

The Atlanta company posted a profit of $369 million, or $3.08 per share.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $3.68 per share, surpassing Wall Street expectations by a penny, according to a poll of analysts by Zacks Investment Research.

It posted revenue of $1.15 billion in the period, which was just shy of analyst projections.

The company said it will pay a dividend of 85 cents per share on June 30, to shareholders of record as of June 16. The dividend is part of its previously announced plan to pay shareholders $3.40 per share this year.

ICE shares rose $16.10, or 6.7 percent, to $257.08 in early trading Wednesday.

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Elements of this storyThis story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ICE at http://www.zacks.com/ap/ICE

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Keywords: IntercontinentalExchange, Earnings Report

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