Standard & Poor's assigns its 'AA' long-term counterparty credit rating to CME Group CHICAGO, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced it has obtained committed financing to support its acquisition of NYMEX Holdings, Inc. The committed financing takes the form of a $3.2 billion bridge financing facility with Bank of America and UBS. In addition, Standard & Poor's has assigned CME Group an "AA" rating on its long-term counterparty credit rating, and S&P and Moody's reaffirmed the company's short-term credit ratings of A-1+ and P-1, respectively. These ratings take into account the effects of the NYMEX transaction. "We are pleased to have secured committed bank financing for our important NYMEX transaction," said CME Group Chief Financial Officer Jamie Parisi. "Although general credit market conditions remain weak, our ability to secure financing and receive such a strong credit rating demonstrates market support of our acquisition as well as confidence in our overall business performance." The financing from Bank of America and UBS will be equal with 50 percent ($1.6 billion) coming from each bank. CME Group and NYMEX have previously announced that they expect their pending transaction to close in the third quarter of 2008, subject to NYMEX member and shareholder approval, CME Group shareholder approval and customary closing conditions. NYMEX shareholders and members and CME Group shareholders will vote on the transaction on August 18, 2008. CME Group (http://www.cmegroup.com/) is the world's largest and most diverse derivatives 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, and alternative investment products such as weather and real estate. CME Group is traded 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. Further information about CME Group and its products can be found at http://www.cmegroup.com/. Important Merger Information In connection with the merger transaction involving CME Group and NYMEX Holdings, CME Group has filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on July 21, 2008 containing a final joint proxy statement/prospectus. Investors and security holders are urged to read the final prospectus/proxy statement and any other such documents, when available, which will contain important information about the proposed transaction. The final prospectus/proxy statement and other documents filed or to be filed by CME Group with the SEC are or will be available free of charge at the SEC's Web site ( http://www.sec.gov/ ) or from CME Group Inc., Attention: Shareholder Relations, 20 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, (312) 930-1000 or NYMEX Holdings, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, at One North End Avenue, World Financial Center, New York, New York 10282, (212) 299- 2000. CME Group and NYMEX Holdings and their respective directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from CME Group and NYMEX Holdings shareholders in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding CME Group and NYMEX Holdings' directors and executive officers is available in their respective proxy statements for their 2008 annual meeting of stockholders. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants is included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and the other relevant documents filed with the SEC when they become available. This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. CME-G DATASOURCE: CME Group CONTACT: Media, Allan Schoenberg, +1-312-930-8189, or , Investors, John Peschier, +1-312-930-8491 Web site: http://www.cmegroup.com/ http://www.cmegroup.mediaroom.com/

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