I have read the article below. What do you think about it? Do you agree with the author? In the modern world of exchanges, profits are more likely to come from behind-the-scenes entities that take on the risks of trades, not from the trading itself. That helps explain why Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc. is considering a bid for London Stock Exchange Group PLC less than a week after LSE and Deutsche Börse AG announced they were in advanced merger talks. Analysts and industry executives say that among the attractive features of LSE, the real prize for ICE and Deutsche Börse is its majority stake in a company called LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd., a so-called clearinghouse that plays an important role in the market for global interest-rate swaps, bonds and other instruments. ICE in particular has made the business of clearing a pillar of its global constellation of futures and stock exchanges. "There are a lot of synergies for ICE, but the real attraction is LCH," said Neal Wolkoff, former chief operating officer of the New York Mercantile Exchange. ICE's pursuit of LSE for its clearing business is in some ways similar to its $8.2 billion acquisition of the owner of the New York Stock Exchange in 2013. In that deal, ICE's primary target was the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, known as Liffe. The NYSE was viewed as a problematic asset in need of significant cost cuts. ICE declined to comment on the potential acquisition beyond a statement confirming it is considering a bid. Clearinghouses are increasingly an important source of profits for exchanges. This is how they work billions of times a day: When two parties execute a trade, they hand the deal over to a clearinghouse that then takes on the risk that one of the parties won't hold up its end of the bargain. When the deal is finalized, the clearinghouse delivers cash to the seller and the financial asset to the buyer. Both sides are charged. Before the 2008 financial crisis, clearinghouses played a smaller role than they do in 2016. Regulators have been pushing for more swap agreements and other contracts to become "centrally cleared," meaning that they use clearinghouses, to reduce the risks taken on by institutions. Banks traditionally increased their profits in some types of trading by taking the risk of transactions onto their own balance sheet rather than handing it off to a clearing firm. ICE's interest in LSE's clearing business could also be a strategic advantage in a possible bidding war because it has a historically good relationship with banks over clearing, said Diego Perfumo, an analyst with Equity Research Desk. For instance, LCH.Clearnet's agreement with banks over its clearing for swaps and foreign currencies has a provision that allows banks to terminate their contract if either LCH.Clearnet or LSE changes owners. ICE could use its relationship with banks, he said. "The question comes down to who is going to have the largest clearinghouse," Mr. Perfumo said. If ICE bids and loses, it could face greater competition. Deutsche Börse has its own clearing business that it would like to combine with LCH.Clearnet. That prospect is another major incentive for ICE to get into the mix. It isn't the most convenient time for ICE to be planning what would be the biggest acquisition since Jeffrey Sprecher, a former chemical engineer, started the company as an online marketplace in 2000. ICE completed a major acquisition in December, paying $5.2 billion for the financial-data provider Interactive Data Corp. Executives are still in the process of incorporating the company into ICE. To finance the acquisition, ICE issued $2.5 billion of debt. Acquiring LSE would cost considerably more: over $14 billion, which would be paid in a mix of stock and cash, analysts say. A bidding war could push up the price for ICE and Deutsche Börse, especially if Chicago's CME Group Inc. makes a serious bid as well. Nasdaq Inc. could also enter the race, especially if it found a partner to help finance a bid, analysts say. "When you want a beachfront property, you have to buy it when it comes for sale," said Mr. Perfumo. "The LSE has a beautiful view."