Chicago Mercantile Exchange to Go Public

The largest U.S. futures exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, is planning to go public, the company said in a filing with federal regulators Tuesday.

In a proxy statement to shareholders filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the CME said it plans to reorganize itself into a holding company structure as part of its strategy to become publicly traded. But the CME did not give a timetable.

The Nasdaq Stock Market already has said it will seek an initial public offering possibly as early as next year depending on market conditions, which would make it the first U.S. market to go public.

The CME started originally as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board in 1898 and evolved into the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1919. It trades futures and futures options on agricultural products, currencies, indexes and interest rates.