NYSE owner sells Coinbase stake for $1.2 billion, with a profit of $900 million

Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and crypto trading platform Bakkt, has sold its 1.4% stake in Coinbase for $1.2 billion.

The trade resulted in a net profit of about $900 million for Intercontinental Exchange, the company's CFO Scott Hill said in an earnings call on Thursday. The company sold the stake this month after Coinbase went public on April 14. The NYSE participated in Coinbase’s $75 million Series C funding round in January 2015.

The stake sale proceeds gave Intercontinental Exchange "some additional flexibility" to reduce its debt, said the company's incoming CFO Warren Gardiner. The company's leverage is now about 3.6 times of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) compared to 4.2 times six months ago.

During the earnings call, Hill also talked about Bakkt, saying that the crypto firm's merger with Victory Park should be completed "toward the end of this quarter."

Bakkt announced the merger with Victory Park, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), earlier this year for its listing on the NYSE.

As for Coinbase, it listed on Nasdaq, and its shares are trading about 22% down since the listing. The shares were listed at a price of $381 and closed at $298 on Thursday.