ICE says may have to sell portion of NCDEX stake

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Intercontinental Exchange Holdings Inc (ICE.N) may be required to sell a portion of its stake in India's National Commodity Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), and many financial institutions have approached about it, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

The Atlanta-based exchange said it was in talks with the Indian Government about the possibility of holding on to its current 8 percent stake in NCDEX or lowering it to the mandatory 5 percent regulatory cap.

ICE CEO Jeff Sprecher said it was being approached by a host of institutions, including global exchanges, financial services companies and banks for the "extra piece" it holds.

"We have been contacted by many, many people who would like to have that extra piece," Sprecher said speaking at the Reuters Exchanges and Trading Summit on Wednesday.

ICE bought a 8 percent stake in the NCDEX last year aiming to get a share of the booming commodities trading in the country. Investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N) also holds a 7 percent stake in the commodity exchange.

The Indian government passed legislation in January this year, putting a cap on individual foreign investments at 5 percent.

Sprecher said a lot of the exchanges were taking smaller minority stakes in each other in order to keep other competitors away, a strategy he termed as "sneezing on a wedding cake."

"May be over time somehow they will come together in an organized manner, but it is not clear," he said.

In February, NYSE Euronext (NYX.N), bought a 5 percent stake in India's largest commodity bourse, the Multi Commodity Exchange for $55 million as part of a strategy to diversify product portfolio and geographical reach.

The minority stake in NCDEX has facilitated in an ongoing dialogue with Indian officials looking to learn about markets trading and price discovery, Sprecher said.

(Reporting by Dinesh Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)