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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cactus Jack who wrote (55776)	10/24/2002 6:10:56 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Chicago Merc to offer 3 mln IPO shares at $31-$34 By Meredith Grossman Dubner Thursday October 24, 5:58 pm ET CHICAGO, (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc., parent of the world's No. 2 futures exchange, said on Thursday it plans to offer 3 million class A common shares in an initial public offering. Shares of CME, which is looking to become the first major U.S. financial exchange to go public, are expected to sell for $31 to $34, which would raise $93 million to $102 million. The shares and the prices were disclosed for the first time since June when the 104-year-old CME filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $150 million. The exchange plans to use the net proceeds for technology, capital expenditures, possible acquisitions and working capital as derivatives exchanges face increasing pressure to transform to computer-based systems and consolidate to make trading more efficient. The initial public stock sale is being handled by Morgan Stanley, UBS Warburg, Salomon Smith Barney, J.P. Morgan and William Blair & Co. Spokespeople at both CME and Morgan Stanley declined to specify dates for the stock's debut, but CME has applied for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "CME" (NYSE:CME - News). Typically, the next step in the process is a roadshow that lasts a week or two during which bankers pitch the share sale to potential investors before the IPO. In addition, an unidentified number of CME shareholders will offer an undisclosed number of additional shares. Further details on that part of the sale are expected in future filings with the SEC. TIMING IN QUESTION CME said this month it planned to go forward with an IPO despite prolonged weakness in the U.S. stock market. Industry sources have said the exchange hoped to launch its IPO as soon as this month, but some had questioned whether it would move forward with the offering as the outlook for the stock market remained dim. But the IPO market has begun to open after steep losses in the stock market caused an eight-week dry spell that ended two weeks ago. Since then, five IPOs have priced, potentially opening the door for companies like CME that have been waiting in the pipeline. Nevertheless, getting IPOs out the door has been painful. Casino mogul Steve Wynn's Wynn Resorts Ltd, whose IPO is now scheduled for Thursday night, has delayed its sale by two days and reduced its offer price twice to try to entice demand. CME, which offers futures and options on interest rates, stock indexes, currencies and commodities, voted earlier this month to pay a regular quarterly dividend and make structural changes to look more like a public company ahead of its IPO. The stock sale would mark the final stage of the exchange's tough transition from an organization controlled by members to a publicly held company. CME is home to Eurodollars, the world's most actively traded futures contract which tracks the interest paid on three-month deposits of U.S. dollars in banks overseas. Futures and options provide a way for investors to protect against -- and profit from -- price changes in financial instruments and physical commodities.