CBOE Continues Higher (CBOE)
Shares of CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ: CBOE) have been headed higher ever since the merger announcement from NSYE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and Deutsche Boerse. Traders that turned bullish on this name early, are sitting on big profits. During Friday's trading session, CBOE shares are up another 5.45% to $29.02. In the last month, CBOE is up almost 27%.
This company will likely be acquired eventually. One likely suitor is CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) which is also headquartered in Chicago and operates the world's largest derivative exchange. The tie-up would make tremendous sense with regard to product offerings, and the current consolidation trend in the exchange space suggests that CME's hand will eventually be forced and some sort of deal will get done.
Today, analysts at Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) said that they believe CBOE will be acquired in the next couple of months for between $35-$37 per share. They think that the likely acquirer could be Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ). If this did take place, it would not be out of the question that CME would then move in on NDAQ. It also seems possible that all three exchange companies are in talks with one another and will announce some kind of mega-deal.
