ICE heats up CBOT takeover bid by CME

Chicago -- IntercontinentalExchange Inc. head Jeffrey Sprecher has begun urging the Chicago Board of Trade to reject the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's takeover bid.

The chief executive officer said he believed ICE bid has been "superior through the entire process," Crain's Chicago Business reported Thursday.

Now that a proxy detailing his plan has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, "we can approach the shareholders directly about our opposition to the CME proposal," Sprecher said. The proxy filing allows Intercontinental to legally solicit votes against the Mercantile Exchange's offer.

Intercontinental's new proposal, valued at about $11 billion vs. the $10 billion offer from CME, guarantees that members will pay lower trading fees than non-members for the next six years.

CBOT is scheduled to vote on the CME bid July 9, but shareholders can cast ballots any time before then.

CBOT directors in May rejected a takeover bid from Intercontinental, choosing instead a revised offer from the Mercantile Exchange, which first bid for the Board of Trade in October.

A CME spokesman said the Chicago exchanges have had a long and "productive" relationship.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.