With its demutualisation approved on 14 April, it appeared that Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT)'s newly-made shareholders were beginning to lean toward a buyout
or merger with Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
A number of sources have told FO Week that CME was preparing to make a bid to buy CBoT outright or forge a stock swap deal to merge the two exchanges.
The window of opportunity for CME to cut a deal was believed to be rather short because a second shareholder vote is expected, to decide whether or not CBoT management should move ahead with an IPO. If approved, that could make a deal somewhat more complicated for CME as
shareholders might well push CBoT executives for a fast-track listing.
Other possible bidders mentioned include Deutsche Börse, which recently pulled out of the running for London Stock Exchange. However,...