Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Holdings Inc. and CBOT Holdings, Inc. have signed a definitive agreement to merge. The combined company, named "CME Group Inc., a CME/Chicago Board of Trade Co.," is expected to transform global derivatives markets, creating operational and cost efficiencies for customers and exchange members, while delivering significant benefits to shareholders. Corporate headquarters will remain in Chicago.

A company release says the merger will strengthen the new entity and provide an average daily trading volume of 9 million contracts/day, representing $4.2 trillion in notional value. The combined company will provide customers efficient, global access to a wide array of benchmark exchange-traded derivatives based on U.S. interest rate yield curve, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agl and industrial commodities, energy and alternative investment products such as weather and real estate, the company says.
-- CME release