Some large US exchanges in recent weeks have talked with the New York Board of Trade, a closely held futures marketplace, about making an offer, the Wall Street Journal reported on August 17, citing unnamed sources.
Member-owned NYBOT is considering approaches from six or more suitors, including CBOT Holdings Inc, owner of the Chicago Board of Trade; the New York Mercantile Exchange, and IntercontinentalExchange Inc, the paper reported.
Other large US and European players, including Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc and Paris-based Euronext, have also expressed interest in NYBOT, the paper said.
At least two exchanges are still in talks with NYBOT, the paper said, citing one person familiar with the matter, but added it wasn't clear which two. A deal is not imminent, it said.
Spokesman Guy Taylor said NYBOT declined to comment "this morning."
NYBOT was formed by the 2004 merger of the New York Cotton Exchange and the Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange Inc. The combined company trades cotton, coffee, orange juice and sugar contracts as well as ethanol.
Also NYBOT has a lucrative clearing business that finalises and guarantee trades. CBOT and ICE currently do not have clearing operations.
NYBOT largely remains a floor-based open outcry marketplace, where traders buy and sell in pits. Most exchanges have moved toward faster, all-electronic systems.
The Journal said NYBOT, in a statement, confirmed a number of institutions in recent months have approached it "about the possibility of some form of business combination, including the possibility of being acquired. These inquiries have prompted discussions with some of the interested parties."
NYBOT's trading floor is located within the New York Mercantile Exchange in lower Manhattan. NYBOT, owned by members holding about 970 memberships, has an implied value of about $760 million, the paper said.
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