Chicago Board of Trade Plans to Go Public

The Chicago Board of Trade, a major trading venue for commodity futures and other so-called derivative securities, said Thursday that it planned an initial public stock offering in the second half of this year.

The Board of Trade expects to offer shares valued at $150 million, the company said. Any sale would be subject to approval by shareholders and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 157-year-old Board of Trade this month voted to become a for-profit company, a necessary step before selling shares to the public.

The Board of Trade’s plans follow in the footsteps of its archrival in futures trading, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which sold shares to the public in 2002. Its stock has soared from $35 at the IPO to $194.82 as of Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Seat prices at the Board of Trade, which confer trading rights and ownership in the exchange, have more than doubled in the last year, with a full seat fetching $1.5 million on Wednesday.

Trading in futures and other derivatives tied to stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities has mushroomed over the last decade, boosting the fortunes of futures exchanges.