Effective upon the close of the merger, CBOT-only clearing firms will be required to hold 8,000 shares of CME Group Class A common stock. Effective August 1, CBOT clearing firms would be required to hold 27,000 shares of CBOT Class A common stock and, based on the exchange ratio provided in the companies' merger agreement, today's announcement represents a reduction of 1,450 shares for those clearing members. CME-only clearing firms will continue to be required to hold 8,000 shares of CME Group Class A common stock, following a reduction in shareholding requirements implemented in February 2007. Joint clearing members (firms with clearing member status of both CME and CBOT) will be required to hold 12,000 shares of CME Group Class A stock, a reduction of 4,000 shares from the shares required to hold individual CME and CBOT clearing memberships.

As a result of the share requirement reduction, a total of approximately 260,000 shares would no longer be required to be held by clearing members, substantially less than the average volume of CME stock traded in a single day. In the first quarter of 2007, CME shares traded an average of approximately 800,000 shares per day.

"We feel very strongly that a CME/CBOT merger creates the greatest benefits for our global customer base," said CME Executive Chairman Terry Duffy. "We are reducing the capital investment requirement for our clearing member firms as part of our continuing efforts to lower their transaction costs and increase their capital efficiencies."

"Today's announcement translates into the release of $2 million in value for each of our joint clearing members," said CBOT Chairman Charlie Carey. "We are very pleased to again demonstrate our commitment to serving our customers and clearing members, as well as our commitment to building value in the proposed CME Group."

"CME and CBOT have a track record for unlocking equity value for our clearing member firms," said CME Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue. "As a combined company, we will reduce costs for new members, while making our diverse products and services even more accessible to market participants worldwide."

Following the merger, new clearing members will be required to acquire and hold 8,000 shares of CME Group Class A stock for CME-only or CBOT-only clearing memberships. New clearing members with joint clearing membership will be required to acquire and hold 12,000 shares of CME Group Class A stock.