|  | | 2005 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
Big Board's Deal For Archipelago Is Deemed Fair
Staff Writer – Bloomberg News
The New York Times. November 24, 2005
_________________________________________________________________________
EXCERPT: The New York Stock Exchange's proposed purchase of Archipelago Holdings is fair, according to an evaluation by Citigroup, which was commissioned to settle a lawsuit that sought to block the transaction. The lawsuit, filed by 10 dissident exchange members in May, argued that the deal was done with advice from the Goldman Sachs Group, which the dissidents say had conflicts of interest, and that the exchange was overpaying by ceding 30 percent of the combined company to Archipelago. Citigroup's bankers received $3.5 million for the evaluation, according to documents posted on the stock exchange's Web site. The report comes less than two weeks before the 1,366 members of the exchange will vote on the Big Board's proposed purchase of the Archipelago electronic market, which is based in Chicago. The deal will transform the stock exchange into a for-profit public company with a market value of about $9.4 billion. A board seat sold for a record $3.5 million on Tuesday. Archipelago's stock has nearly tripled this year, to $58.50. After the Big Board agreed to the review, the dissident group, led by William Higgins, a former floor broker, decided to settle its six-month-old lawsuit, which could have delayed the vote. Citigroup was selected by the exchange and the dissident group, and Goldman did not play a role in the evaluation. |
|
|
