Posted on 01/29/2008 4:19:13 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Chicago CME exchange, NYMEX in merger talks
Mon Jan 28, 3:02 PM ET
CME Group, Inc. and NYMEX Holdings, Inc. said Monday they were conducting initial merger talks which could result in the Chicago-based exchange taking over the New York commodities bourse.
The two companies described their merger talks as "preliminary" in a joint statement, saying they had agreed to a 30-day exclusive negotiating session.
Under the terms being discussed, NYMEX shareholders would potentially receive 36 dollars in cash and 0.1323 of a share of CME Group's common stock in exchange for each NYMEX share.
CME said it expects to retain trading floors in the New York area if the takeover is concluded.
Global exchanges are racing to broaden their capabilities and widen their offerings to investors around the globe. Executives say the mergers can also help drive down operating costs.
A deal between CME and NYMEX would potentially result in the repurchase of 816 New York Mercantile Exchange memberships for a maximum 500 million dollars, the companies said.
CME, forged from the 2007 merger between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, claims to be the world's biggest and most diverse exchange.
The Chicago market offers investors a broad range of trading products including futures and options, currencies, commodities and property products. Speculators can also place bets on the weather.
NYMEX Holdings is the parent group of the New York Mercantile Exchange, which traces its history to 1872 and is the world's largest physical commodities exchange.
CME's shares were down 2.8 percent at 611.18 dollars in early afternoon trading while NYMEX's shares were 5.8 percent higher at 113.37 dollars.
Ping!
“Look, dudes, I tell you only once now. We gotta do this deal to burying the info on the speculation in our markets. This will be easily accomplished if we merge. The paperwork involved will be as tall as Mt Everest. No one will ever know and we can all keep what we’ve skimmed in the form of kickbacks. No one wants to go to prison for the insider trading. Get it?”
bets on the weather=sub-prime derivatives.
You read, you decide.
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