The Chicago Stock Exchange, founded more than a century ago, said Friday it has agreed to be acquired by a Chinese-led investor group.
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If regulators approve the deal, this would be the first sale of a US exchange to investors from China but not to a foreign entity.
It is learned that the Chinese company will preserve current business operations and proprietary trading platforms of Chicago Stock Exchange, and the management team will remain in place upon the closure of the transaction.
Though the Chicago Stock Exchange only deals with 0.5 percent of all US stock trading, the acquisition provides Casin, and by association Beijing, beachhead access in the $22 trillion American 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. It trades 8,300 stocks and exchange-traded funds that are also traded on other exchanges, such as the NYSE.
A concluded deal would be the first acquisition of a U.S. stock exchange by a Chinese company.
The Chicago Stock Exchange was founded in 1882, about 90 years after the New York Stock Exchange.
A long-term objective of Casin Group, a privately held company that invests in real estate development and financial holdings, is to list Chinese companies in the United States, Kerin said.
Stock exchanges are national symbols and political objections have derailed prior sales. “Together, we have a unique opportunity to help develop financial markets in China over the longer term and to bring exciting Chinese growth companies to USA investors”, he said.
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“We have reviewed CHX’s plans to improve market share through new growth initiatives and fully support them”, Shengju Lu, Casin Group founder and chairman, said in a statement. Broadhaven Capital Partners and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP worked with Casin.
