CME's Board of Directors has set Tuesday, Sept. 25 as the record date for shareholders entitled to vote at the meeting.
If shareholders approve the two-step plan, the futures exchange will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME Holdings). According to the proxy statement/prospectus, the plan would provide CME with strategic and business flexibility and facilitate a possible initial public offering (IPO) of Class A shares.
CME's Board of Directors has approved the holding company plan and recommends that shareholders vote "yes" on the proposals in the proxy statement. Approval requires the vote of a majority of outstanding shares, voting together as a single class.
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.
