IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE.N), which is jointly bidding for NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) with Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O), said on Tuesday it plans to expand into Brazil by opening a marketplace for power contracts. The trading platform, called BRIX, is "operationally ready" and will launch in June, ICE said in a statement. ICE is partnering on the project with a former Brazilian regulator, Roberto Teixeira da Costa; EBX Holding CEO Eike Batista; Josue Gomes da Silva, CEO of textile giant Coteminas; and Compass Energia CEO Marcelo Parodi. ICE's move to expand into a fast-growing emerging market underscores CEO Jeffrey Sprecher's focus on building his energy bourse into a global powerhouse. That ambition was already apparent in Sprecher's decision to partner with Nasdaq in a bid for NYSE, which the Big Board operator has rejected. BRIX will offer electronic trading in key Brazilian power contracts, ICE said. Teixeira da Costa will be the new company's chairman, and Marcelo Mello, former head of commodities Latin America for Standard Bank, is its president, ICE said.
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