Court will wait to rule on CBOT rights

(Reuters) - CME Group Inc., the world's largest futures exchange, was created with the merger of CBOT Holdings Inc. and Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. in July. The CBOE is the largest U.S. options market.




The exercise rights allow full members of the Chicago Board of Trade to trade options on CBOE without owning CBOE membership.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

ICE won't say if higher CBOT offer will be made

(Reuters) - ICE is in a battle with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to purchase the Chicago Board of Trade . The CME on Friday increased its takeover offer for CBOT to $11.9 billion, besting the ICE's current offer worth about $11.8 billion.



"I can't talk about it. Give me a break," ICE Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher told Reuters before testifying at a Senate hearing on excessive speculation in U.S. natural gas markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CME's battle to buy CBOT set to end in victory

(Reuters) - Most analysts predict victory for Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. after the company improved its bid for a third time on Friday to quell dissent among CBOT Holdings shareholders.




A vote that looked like it might be a toss-up, given a higher competing bid for CBOT from IntercontinentalExchange Inc. , now has the makings of a landslide.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

CBOT Holdings, Genzyme, Ruth's Chris, Six Flags: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes on U.S.
exchanges. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 10:10 a.m. in New York.

CBOT Holdings, Inc. (BOT US) rose $8.20, or 4 percent, to
$214.35. Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME US)
raised its offer for the Chicago Board of Trade for a third
time, to $11 billion, to fend off rival Intercontinental
Exchange Inc. (ICE US) and form the world's largest futures
exchange. Chicago Merc shares fell $6.94 to $548.75, and
Intercontinental shares gained $3.11 to $154.92.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Plenty of fireworks to come in CBOT-CME merger push

(Reuters) - Shareholders of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.
and CBOT Holdings Inc. are voting between now
and July 9 on the proposal to merge the two largest U.S.
futures marts.




The deal is dominating talk on the CBOT trading floor, in
nearby coffee shops and bars and in online chat rooms. The
outcome is far from assured.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CBOT says CBOE trying to quash trading rights

(Reuters) - CBOE, the largest U.S. options mart, has been attempting to
end the historic right held by some Board of Trade members to
also trade options at CBOE, known as the exercise right.




The options mart contends that if CME absorbs CBOT to
create CME Group Inc., there will no longer be CBOT members who
qualify for CBOE trading rights.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Proxy Governance recommends vote for CME-CBOT deal

(Reuters) - "We believe if this deal is voted down, CBOT's shares may
fall precipitously, and we do not see the board accepting an
ICE proposal," Proxy Governance said in a report.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CBOT says June average volume up 51 pct to record

(Reuters) - Total volume for the month was 102 million contracts, up 45
percent from June 2006.




A key element in the advance was the 57 percent increase in
interest rates derivatives trading, CBOT's largest segment, to
3.8 million contracts, also a record.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-CBOT says Glass Lewis recommends CME merger

(Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange Inc. , or ICE, an Atlanta-
based exchange, has made a higher bid for CBOT that was
rejected by the CBOT board. CME's bid, with a special dividend,
values CBOT at roughly $10.5 billion against roughly $11.4
billion from ICE.




Swings in the share prices of the ICE and the CME, as well
as a $9.14 per share one-time dividend approved for CBOT if the
merger occurs, have made the comparative value of the offers
volatile.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

CBOT says ISS recommends vote for CME merger

(Reuters) - CBOT shareholders and members vote on the CME deal on July
9, but are mulling a higher, competing bid from Atlanta-based
IntercontinentalExchange Inc. .




"If one is to compare ICE's adjusted offer price with CME's
offer price, the difference between the two offers is
marginal," ISS said in its report.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CBOT board urges support for CME merger

(Reuters) - ICE's competing offer to take over CBOT "is uncertain and
entails higher risk" than hooking up with CME, the largest U.S.
futures exchange, the letter said.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-ICE urges CBOT members to vote against CME deal

(Reuters) - Energy exchange ICE, which has been pursuing the parent of
the Chicago Board of Trade, told CBOT shareholders and members
in a letter that the CBOT board has "endorsed a deal with CME
that undervalued the CBOT from the outset."




ICE Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sprecher said in the
letter that CBOT's board has agreed to a "bargain-basement
sale" in a transaction that would leave $1.3 billion of
shareholders' money on the table, and urged them to vote
against the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Investor group settles suit over CBOT merger

(Reuters) - CBOT, in a statement, said it was not a party to a settlement. A CME spokeswoman told Reuters it had reached a settlement.




A lawyer for LAMPERS, John Coffey of Bernstein Litowitz Berger and Grossman, told Reuters that a settlement had been reached that provides for "a release of CBOT and the directors and the resolution of the litigation."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

CBOT to launch credit default swap futures

(Reuters) - "The CBOT CDR Liquid 50 NAIG Index futures contract, based
on our transparent credit index, enables credit derivatives
trading for all market participants," Dave Klein, manager of
credit indices at CDR, said in the release.




The index will be rebalanced every three months.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News