UPDATE: Chicago Board Options Exchange Seat Price Drops To $2.5 Million
09 Dicembre 2009 - 1:02AM
Dow Jones News
Toronto-based Caldwell Investment Management announced late
Tuesday that it had purchased a seat on the Chicago Board Options
Exchange for $2.5 million, in the first transaction since the
largest U.S. options market settled a legal battle over ownership
rights.
The $2.5 million price marks a decline from the prior sale, when
a seat sold for $2.75 million on Nov. 5, according to the
exchange.
The CBOE, which controlled about 32% of U.S. options trade in
November, last week settled a four-year legal dispute that has kept
the market operator from converting to a shareholder-owned
entity.
That process, known as demutualization, would allow the CBOE to
finally go public, a route taken years ago by most of its peers in
the U.S. exchange sector. There's also the possibility of a larger
rival, such as CME Group Inc. (CME) or NYSE Euronext (NYX),
approaching the CBOE with a merger offer.
Both paths would allow CBOE members like Caldwell to cash in on
their seats, along with the trading rights these carry.
Tuesday's purchase by Caldwell's Urbana Corp. unit brings the
Canadian investment firm's holdings in the CBOE to 24 seats, a
position valued at $69.5 million. CBOE memberships make up 41% of
Urbana's exchange-focused portfolio, according to a statement from
Caldwell.
Executives of the investment firm, which is among the biggest
holders of CBOE seats, have long been supportive of an initial
public offering for the CBOE, or simply listing CBOE shares without
an IPO.
The CBOE's board of directors is expected to discuss the
exchange operator's future at a board meeting Dec. 10.
Bruce V. Rauner, principal and chairman of Chicago-based private
equity firm GTCR Golder Rauner LLC, made the last two CBOE seat
purchases on Nov. 5.
-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117;
jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024
Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024