The Chicago Stock Exchange said a Chinese investor group agreed to acquire it, giving the buyer entry into the intensely competitive U.S. equity market.
Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company, according to a statement Friday, which didn’t give financial terms. The exchange said the deal is expected to close in the second half of the year, though that will require regulatory approval.
“We’re a good fit. Our strategy is something they like and is consistent with theirs,” Chicago Stock Exchange Chief Executive Officer John Kerin said in a phone interview. “We provide technology and we’re a standalone, full-service exchange that they can grow in a manner that suits their needs.”
The Chicago Stock Exchange — a subsidiary of CHX Holdings Inc. — is minority-owned by a group including E*Trade Financial Corp., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to the company. The minority shareholders are also selling their stake, Kerin said.
The acquisition would be the first of a U.S. exchange by a Chinese company. The 134-year-old bourse, which handles about 0.5 percent of U.S. stock trading, would give the buyer a beachhead in the $22 trillion American equity market, where regulations require trades to be routed to whichever exchange has the best price for a stock at a given moment. (continue reading)