CME and CBOT Complete Merger Creating the Leading Global Financial Exchange
July 12 2007 - 5:57PM
PR Newswire (US)
CHICAGO, July 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chicago Mercantile
Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE/Nasdaq: CME) and CBOT Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE:BOT) today announced that they have completed the merger of
their companies, effective today. The combined company, CME Group
Inc., a CME/Chicago Board of Trade Company, will be the world's
largest and most diverse exchange, with all major benchmark asset
classes ultimately available on a single trading platform and
floor. CME Group stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange
and NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "CME." (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070712/AQTH147LOGO) As of the
close of the markets today, CBOT Holdings stock has been delisted
and will no longer trade on NYSE. The merger creates a company with
pro forma 2006 annual revenue of $1.6 billion and average trading
volume of approximately 10.2 million contracts per day in the
second quarter 2007. Customers from more than 80 countries trade
CME Group products, primarily electronically. Corporate
headquarters of the combined organization will remain in Chicago at
20 S. Wacker Drive. "This is a historic day for both companies, as
our two Chicago institutions join to create CME Group," said CME
Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy. "We are grateful for the
strong support demonstrated by CME and CBOT shareholders and are
confident today's close of our landmark merger will bring
substantial benefits to all our shareholders, customers, members
and the city of Chicago." "As we have said all along, we believe
this is the right strategic decision for CBOT's shareholders and
customers," said Charles P. Carey, CME Group Vice Chairman and
former Chairman of CBOT. "This merger delivers significant value
for our shareholders and creates tremendous opportunities for our
members and customers. We are excited to now move forward as one
company with our combined resources and strengths." "We are
extremely pleased to complete our merger and begin operating as the
largest and most diverse exchange in the world," said Craig
Donohue, CME Group Chief Executive Officer. "We are now in the
enviable position of executing our integration plans while
simultaneously pursuing a broad range of ambitious new growth
opportunities. We are fortunate to enjoy a leading position in the
further growth and consolidation of our industry." Under the terms
of the agreement, CBOT stockholders will receive 0.375 shares of
CME Group Class A common stock per share of CBOT Class A common
stock. In addition, immediately prior to the close of the merger,
CBOT paid the previously announced one-time cash dividend of $9.14
per CBOT share, or a total of $485 million. CME Group Inc. intends
to promptly initiate a previously announced cash tender offer for
up to $3.5 billion in common stock of the combined company, or
approximately 12 percent of the combined company's outstanding
shares, at a fixed price of $560 per share. The tender offer will
be open to former CBOT Holdings shareholders that received CME
stock in connection with the merger, as well as existing CME
shareholders. CME Group is the world's largest and most diverse
exchange. Formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), CME Group
serves the risk management needs of customers around the globe. As
an international marketplace, CME Group brings buyers and sellers
together on the CME Globex electronic trading platform and on its
trading floors. CME Group offers the widest range of benchmark
products available across all major asset classes, including
futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes,
foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and alternative
investment products such as weather and real estate. CME Group is
traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ under the symbol
"CME." The Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group,
Globex and E- mini, are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of
Trade of the City of Chicago. Standard & Poor's, S&P 500
and S&P, S&P MidCap 400, Standard & Poor's Depositary
Receipts and SPDR are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
NASDAQ, NASDAQ-100 and the NASDAQ-100 Index are trademarks of The
Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. Nikkei and Nikkei 225 are trademarks of
Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. The Russell 2000 Index and Russell 1000
Index are registered trademarks of Frank Russell Co. TRAKRS and
Total Return Asset Contracts are trademarks of Merrill Lynch &
Co., Inc. GSCI is a trademark of Goldman Sachs & Co. Morgan
Stanley Capital International, MSCI, and EAFE are trademarks of
MSCI. FTSE/Xinhua China 25 is a trademark of FTSE Xinhua Index
Limited. Dow Jones and Dow Jones Industrial Average are trademarks
of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. CDR Liquid 50 NAIG is a trademark
of Credit Derivatives Research LLC. These trademarks are used
herein under license. All other trademarks are the property of
their respective owners. The information in this document
describing CME's planned tender offer following closing of the
transaction is for informational purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell
shares of CME's common stock in the tender offer. The tender offer
will be made only pursuant to an Offer to Purchase and related
materials that CME will distribute to shareholders of the combined
company after the proposed transaction with CBOT is consummated.
Shareholders should read the Offer to Purchase and the related
materials carefully when they become available because they will
contain important information, including the various terms and
conditions of the tender offer. Subsequent to the closing of the
transaction with CBOT, shareholders will be able to obtain a free
copy of the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, the Offer to
Purchase and other documents that CME will file with the SEC free
of charge at http://www.sec.gov/ or from CME Group Inc.,
Shareholder Relations and Membership Services, 20 South Wacker
Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, Attention: Beth Hausoul. CME-G
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070712/AQTH147
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: CME Group Inc. CONTACT:
Media, Anita Liskey, +1-312-466-4613, or Allan Schoenberg,
+1-312-930-8189, , or Investors, John Peschier, +1-312-930-8491,
all of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. Web site:
http://www.cme.com/
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