CBOT Holdings Board Determines Revised ICE Proposal Not Superior, Reaffirms Recommendation Of CME Merger Agreement

CBOT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BOT) today announced that its Board of Directors and special committees have carefully reviewed the revised proposal from IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (ICE) and concluded that it is not superior to the revised CME merger agreement announced earlier today.

In addition, following the recent enhancements to the CME transaction terms, the CBOT Holdings Board of Directors and its special transaction committee have unanimously reaffirmed their recommendation that CBOT Holdings shareholders vote in favor of the revised merger agreement with CME on July 9.

"After a review of the new elements of the latest proposal from ICE, the Boards of CBOT Holdings and the CBOT concluded that the revised merger agreement with CME continues to offer greater overall benefits for our shareholders and members," said CBOT Chairman Charlie Carey. "Our Boards and advisors reviewed this latest proposal, considering both the short-term and long-term value to the Company, and found that it was not superior to the revised CME merger agreement.”

“ICE’s revised proposal did not adequately address important strategic and operational concerns, such as integration and execution risk," said CBOT President and CEO Bernard W. Dan. "A combination with the CME will create the most extensive and diverse global derivatives exchange while delivering significant benefits to shareholders and customers. Today, our common clearing arrangement with CME provides tremendous benefits to our market users. Going forward, this combination will allow us to better compete in a rapidly changing and technology challenging global environment.”