Chicago & Midwest + Downtown + Finance | August 18, 2021

CME Denies Report of Possible $16B Deal for Rival Cboe

Two Chicago-based exchange operators made the headlines Wednesday, with the Financial Times reporting that CME “has approached” smaller rival Cboe regarding an all-share deal to acquire the owner of the Vix volatility indices for nearly $16 billion. Citing sources said to be familiar with the discussions, the FT reported that the deal would value Cboe at approximately $150 per share.

However, CME refuted the FT report. “CME Group denies all rumors that is in conversations to acquire Cboe Global Markets,” the company said in a statement. “The company has not had any discussions with Cboe whatsoever. While the company does not typically comment on rumor or speculation, today’s inaccurate information required correction.”

A Cboe spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that the company doesn’t comment on market rumors or speculation. Cboe’s stock price climbed as much as 12% to $139/share on the FT report, a new all-time intraday high.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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