Il CME compra il CBOT

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Il CME si pappa il CBOT e fa nascere un vero colosso dei derivati.
E' tempo di grandi merger sui mercati finanziari globali, vedi trattative NYSE Euronext, il triangolare made in EU tra Italia,Germania e la stessa Euronext, l'offerta dell'ICE sul NYBOT e il tentativo del Nasdaq sul LSE.



Chicago Merc to Buy Board of Trade for $8 Billion (Update2)

By Annie Pinkert and Edgar Ortega

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange agreed to buy the Chicago Board of Trade for about $8 billion, creating the largest exchange for futures contracts on stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities.

Stockholders will receive 0.3006 share of CME Class A common stock for each share or an equal amount in cash, the companies said in a statement today. The new firm, to be called CME Group Inc., will be owned 69 percent by Chicago Merc shareholders, the biggest U.S. futures market.

The merger will help the Chicago exchanges compete with Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which owns Europe's biggest energy market and agreed last month to by the New York Board of Trade. Exchanges from the New York Stock Exchange to Frankfurt- based Deutsche Boerse AG are combining in response to investor pressure for lower trading costs.

``They have put together the dominant global exchange in the futures market and looking at their competitive position, you have to say that they are very well positioned,'' said Ryan Caldwell, an analyst at Overland Park, Kansas-based Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., which oversees about $45 billion.

Chicago Board of Trade shares rose about 16 percent to $156.50 at 9:11 a.m. in New York. The shares were up 43 percent this year as of the close of trading yesterday. CME shares have risen 37 percent this year. They climbed about 4 percent in early trading, to $522.53.

Estimated Savings

The company, to be led by Craig Donohue, chief executive officer of the CME. Duffy will become chairman of CME Group. CBOT Chairman Charles P. Carey will serve as vice chairman.

``We expect to build on our proven track records of growth and innovation,'' said Terrence A. Duffy, chairman of the CME, during a conference call with investors. ``They say that timing is everything. The time is now.''

Global futures trading has more than doubled over the past five years to 3.96 billion contracts in 2005, boosted by electronic trading that has made futures buying and selling more accessible to more investors and easier to perform with computer programs.

The combination is expected to add to earnings in 12 to 18 months after the transaction is completed. The company anticipates pre-tax cost savings of more than $125 million beginning in the second full year following the closing.

NYSE Group Inc., operator of the No. 1 stock exchange in the world, agreed in June to acquire Paris-based Euronext NV in a transaction now valued at valued at $11.2 billion, beating out a rival bid by Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse AG.

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. has pursued an acquisition of London Stock Exchange Plc since March. Earlier this month, OMX AB, owner of the Swedish stock exchange, agreed to buy the Iceland Stock Exchange.

To contact the reporter on this story: Annie Pinkert in New York at [email protected]

 

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CME and Chicago Board Agree to Merge

By Laurie Kulikowski
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
10/17/2006 8:29 AM EDT

The consolidation of the world's exchanges took a big step forward Tuesday with the news that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME - commentary - Cramer's Take) will pay about $8 billion to merge with the parent of the Chicago Board of Trade to create a giant trading marketplace for derivatives and futures contracts.

The deal between the two Windy City exchanges values the new commodities marketplace at $25 billion and may turn Chicago into the global leader for derivatives trading.

The new exchange, which will be headquartered in Chicago, be called CME Group. The CME is paying about $8 billion for the CBOT (BOT - commentary - Cramer's Take), the parent of the Chicago Board of Trade, in a deal that involves a combination of stock and cash.

"This transaction unifies each company's worldwide efforts into a cohesive strategy allowing us to be even more competitive in each of our markets," says Terry Duffy, the chairman of the CME on a conference call. Duffy will remain chairman of the new company.

CBOT stockholders, according to a press release, will have the right to receive 0.3006 shares of CME stock, or an equivalent amount in cash. But the cash component of the deal will be capped at $3 billion.

The deal values CBOT, which went public just a year ago, at about $151 a share, or 16% premium to its Monday closing price of $134.51.

In premarket trading, shares of CBOT were up $20, or 15%, to $155.51. Shares of the CME were up $16.25, or 3%, to $519.50. Ever since it went public nearly two years ago, shares of the CME have been a hot commodity and one the top performing exchange stocks.

If shareholders of the CBOT reject cash for their shares, shareholders of the CME will own about 69% of the merged company.

CBOT stockholders, according to a press release, will have the right to receive 0.3006 shares of CME stock, or an equivalent amount in cash.

The combination is expected to add to earnings in 12 to 18 months after the deal closes. The companies expect "pre-tax cost savings of more than $125 million beginning in the second full year following the closing.''

The deal comes at a time that consolidation is sweeping the exchange sector. The NYSE Group (NYX - commentary - Cramer's Take), the parent of the New York Stock Exchange is trying to complete a deal with Euronext, an European exchange. The Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ - commentary - Cramer's Take) is continuing to make overtures for the London Stock Exchange.

Earlier this year, the Nasdaq acquired a 25.1% equity stake in the LSE after the London market rebuffed an unsolicited takeover offer by the Nasdaq. Many on Wall Street are expecting the Nasdaq to resume its efforts to acquire the rest of the LSE. Today's deal between the CME and Chicago Board could put more pressure on the Nasdaq to pull off its own big merger.

 

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Derivati Usa, fusione da 8 miliardi tra CME e CBOT

martedì, 17 ottobre 2006

NEW YORK, 17 ottobre (Reuters) - Il Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME.N: Quotazione, Profilo) acquisterà il rivale CBOT Holdings Inc. (BOT.N: Quotazione, Profilo) per 8 miliardi di dollari, un'operazione che va a creare la maggior società mercato dei derivati con 25 miliardi di dollari di capitalizzazione.

La notizia ha fatto volare nel preborsa le azioni CBOT che guadagnano a 156 dollari circa da 134,5 di chiusura mentre anche l'acquirente CME è positivo a 520 dollari da poco più di 503.

In dettaglio, i soci del CBOT avranno 0,3006 azioni CME di Classe A per ognuno dei loro titoli, o un equivalente valore in contanti, ma la parte di offerta cash non supererà comunque i 3 miliardi, spiega una nota, aggiungendo che oltre questa cifra ci sarà un riparto dei pagamenti contanti. L'accordo valuta l'azione CBOT 151,27 dlr.

Il merger pare gradito anche agli analisti interpellati a caldo da Reuters. Boyd Cruel della Alaron Trading lo definisce "decisamente positivo per entrambe le società".

Mentre Beth Malloy, analista dei bond a Briefing.com non si dice sorpresa ma ritiene che "ci sarà un vantaggio per i proprietari di seggi nei due mercati".

Per Jeff Schappe, chief investment officer di BB&T asset management sono all'opera "le stesse forze che stanno spingendo le borse mondiali a fondersi - tagliare i costi, far crescere i volumi e offrire servizi migliori. Assomiglia a eBay, più clienti ci sono, più compratori e venditori, più si apprezza il mercato (dove avvengono le transazioni)".

CME e CBOT puntano a consolidare le operazioni alle grida nella sede del CBOT e tra i progetti futuri c'è anche l'unificazione informatica e il passaggio dei prodotti CBOT sulla piattaforma CME Globex.

Al vertice della società post fusione, che sarà chiamata CME Group Inc e manterrà la sede a Chicago, ci saranno il presidente Terrence Duffy e l'AD Craig Donohue. La transazione dovrebbe chiudere per metà 2007.