It is a little hard to know what to make of the reshaped Icap once the voice-broking side has been hived off to Tullett Prebon. This was the original core of the business and, a little like the London Stock Exchange, Icap has added so many post-trade and information businesses, accounting for almost four fifths of earnings, that it is unrecognisable.
For reasons not entirely clear, one analyst is even forecasting that the remaining business will be cutting its dividend by three quarters once the deal is done. This is implausible, but the 4.8 per cent yield is about all that is holding up the shares.
Making the calculation even more difficult is the near-20 per cent stake that Icap will emerge with in Tulletts,