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Dear Team,
We are pleased to announce that the shareholders of both CME and CBOT, as well as CBOT members, have approved our merger, based on preliminary vote counts of the companies’ independent inspectors of election. Final counts for these votes are expected to be officially certified by the independent inspectors of election within the next few days, at which time they will be publicly announced. We expect to close the merger in a few days, subject to the certification of the vote. More information is available in the attached news release.
Today’s votes clear the way for us to combine our two great exchanges and begin delivering the value of the merger to our members, customers and shareholders. Together, we will be the largest derivatives exchange and clearing house in the world by almost any measure, with a market capitalization of approximately $30 billion. Our combined company will offer:- Industry-leading trading and clearing platforms;
- Benchmark products and deep liquidity in every major asset class, including interest rates, currencies, stock index futures, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and alternative investments; and,
- The broadest customer base and global distribution network in the business.
- We will be working to meet necessary closing conditions and prepare for “Day One” of CME Group. Many of you have been and will continue to be working tirelessly to ensure that systems and communications are ready for Day One. We need you to stay focused on your goals at hand – we cannot lose sight of our business objectives, even as the last steps are completed to finalize our merger.
- We will continue to work on the staffing process, and we expect that process to take about a month beyond close. We want you to know that your job status does not change today and will not change on Day One, as the staffing process is still underway. Pending the successful close of the merger, we will work to complete the staffing process and make job status announcements in mid-August.
- The day after the close is considered to be “Day One” of the combined company. On Day One, we will have updates regarding the policies and procedures that will be in effect for the combined company. We will also hold division meetings for the combined divisions of CME Group.
- As always, it is important that we speak with one voice about this merger. Please forward any calls from the media to Corporate Communications at 466-4613 or 930-8189; direct calls from investors to Investor Relations at 930-8491.
We also want to take this opportunity to thank you for all of the work you have contributed to making CME such a strong business – one that will be even stronger as part of the new combined company. CME’s success could not have been achieved without your hard work, and we are going to continue to depend on your creativity, drive and innovative spirit to make our merger a success and our future growth potential a reality.
We look forward to talking with you in a few days as we all mark the beginning of CME Group.
Sincerely,Craig Gill
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