On Dec. 17, 2013, CME Group’s acquisition of the Kansas City Board of Trade was recognized as the 2013 Financial Services Deal of the Year, among deals valued under $200 million, by The M&A Advisor.
Attorneys from Husch Blackwell’s Mergers & Acquisitions group successfully advised on the sale of its client Kansas City Board of Trade to the CME Group, which was announced last week. Led by Partner Gary Gilson and Associate Katharine Milberger Haynes, the Husch Blackwell team also included Associate Amy Raj Goostree and Partners Craig Kovarik, Jason Reschly and W.C. Blanton.
Under the terms of the agreement, members of the Kansas City Board of Trade will receive approximately $126 million plus a distribution of excess cash for the 156-year-old trading organization, the world’s largest exchange for hard red winter wheat. CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, was created in 2007 by the merger of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2012.
Husch Blackwell’s Mergers & Acquisitions attorneys advise clients in structuring, negotiating and completing domestic and international acquisitions and divestitures. The firm regularly represents bidders, targets, public and private operating companies, boards of directors, committees of independent directors, private equity firms, and management buy-out groups in transactions ranging in size from several million dollars to several billion dollars.