Sale of NYSE Seat Sets Record at $3.5 Million
A New York Stock Exchange seat sold for a record $3.5 million Tuesday.
The sale, up from a previous high of $3.25 million, comes less than a week after antitrust regulators approved the Big Board’s purchase of Archipelago Holdings Inc. The exchange’s 1,366 members are scheduled to vote on the deal Dec. 6.
Seat prices have tripled this year, bolstered by the proposed merger and NYSE’s plan to transform itself into a for-profit company. The takeover will be completed by the first quarter, NYSE Chief Executive John Thain has said.
Under terms of the takeover, each Big Board member will receive 80,177 shares of the combined company, NYSE Group Inc., and about $300,000 in cash. They can elect to receive more stock and less cash, or vice versa. Archipelago’s shareholders will get one share of NYSE Group for each of their shares.
The standard offer to the members puts a $5.05 million value on each seat, based on Archipelago’s current price. The stock closed at $59.25 on Tuesday, down 75 cents.
