Sold! (Almost!) Sale of New York Stock Exchange expected to go through

The $8.2 billion deal to sell the 220-year-old New York Stock Exchange to Intercontinental Exchange appears to a much better chance of being approved than its attempt to ally itself with Deutsche Borse AG earlier this year.

Regulators are likely to look more favorably on the current deal, as the Atlanta-based "ICE" focuses primarily on energy futures, whereas the NYSE Euronext (NYX) trades in stocks, and, increasingly, derivatives, making antitrust objections less likely.

The stock price for NYSE Euronext rocketed up 34% Thursday morning, to $32.31. ICE will pay $33.12 a share for the company.