Chicago Stock Exchange sold to NYSE parent Intercontinental

The parent of the New York Stock Exchange said Thursday it has agreed to buy the Chicago Stock Exchange. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Intercontinental Exchange said the Chicago Stock Exchange will continue to operate as a securities exchange. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018.

The Wall Street Journal reported a week ago that the companies were in talks and that $ 70 million was a possible price.

“After an in- depth review of strategic alternatives for CHX, we believe this transaction is clearly in the best interests of CHX stockholders and positions the organization well going forward,” said Matthew Frymier, Chairman of Chicago Stock Exchange parent CHX Holdings Inc., in a press release.

“We are pleased to enter this agreement with the world’s leading exchange operator,” said John Kerin, the Chicago Stock Exchange’s CEO & president. “ICE is a proven innovator in the Exchange space and we are looking forward to joining its family of exchanges.”

GCA Advisors LLC served as financial adviser and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal adviser to CHX, according to the company’s statement.

In February 2016, the Chicago Stock Exchange said it had agreed to be acquired by a Chinese- led investor group headed by Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group, a holding company based in Chongqing, China.

Two months ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission blocked that proposed $ 20 million acquisition over concerns about transparency and lack of clarity over who exactly would control the exchange, according to news reports.

President Donald Trump in a 2016 campaign debate complained, “China bought the Chicago Stock Exchange — China, a Chinese company. They are taking our jobs. They are taking our wealth. They are taking our base.”

The Chicago Stock Exchange was founded in 1882, about 90 years after the New York Stock Exchange. It’s trading floor has long been closed. It trades 8,300 stocks and exchange- traded funds that are also traded on other exchanges, such as the NYSE.

Companies don’t exclusively list stocks on the Chicago Stock Exchange as they do on the NYSE.