In the reorganization, the futures exchange will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME Holdings) through a merger of CME into a new subsidiary of CME Holdings. As a result of the merger, shareholders in CME will automatically become shareholders of CME Holdings. The merger will be completed upon satisfaction of a number of conditions, including receipt of a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service and/or a formal opinion from legal counsel that the merger will be tax-free to shareholders.
"We are delighted by the support we've received from shareholders," said Chairman Scott Gordon.
"This reorganization give us the platform and flexibility we need to move our company forward, and it allows shareholders to access the full value of their Class A shares," said President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNulty.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is an international marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX®2 around-the-clock electronic trading system. CME offers futures contracts and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and commodities. On Nov. 13, 2000, CME finalized its transformation into a for-profit, shareholder-owned corporation as it became the first U.S. financial exchange to demutualize by converting its membership interests into shares of common stock that can trade separately from exchange trading privileges. The exchange moves about $1.5 billion per day in settlement payments and manages $28.4 billion in collateral deposits.
