Well, there seems to be one healthy part of the financial system – that is, the exchanges. Actually, this week, we got another mega deal: CME Group (NYSE: CME) has agreed to pay $9.3 billion for NYMEX Holdings (NASDAQ: NMX).Yes, the CME is already the world's largest futures marketplace. But with the Nymex, there will be some extra heft with oil, natural gas and gold futures (all of which, of course, have been torrid).
No doubt, the CME has shown a big appetite for deals. After all, in the middle of last year, the firm purchased the venerable CBOT for a cool $12 billion.
Interestingly enough, the NYMEX has a major footprint in the over-the-counter derivatives marketplace, which has been a money maker. Yet, as seen with the implosion at The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (NYSE: BSC) and a variety of major hedge funds, it seems that this market is undergoing some scrutiny.
However, integration of the deal should be a fairly smooth process since the NYMEX already uses the CME Globex platform. What's more, the merger is expected to result in annual cost savings of about $60 million.
But Wall Street definitely has concerns. On the news of the deal, the CME's stock fell 7.58% to $449.20.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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