Nymex deal remains undecided

NEW YORK, March 25 (UPI) -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group Inc.'s $9.9 billion bid to purchase the New York Mercantile Exchange is not a done deal.

A major shareholder, Cataldo Capozza filed suit against Nymex the same day the deal was made public, Crain's Business Journal reported Tuesday.

The suit says the deal is "wrongful, unfair and harmful," the report said.

The boards of both exchanges approved the deal last week, but it still requires a 75 percent vote of approval among Nymex members.

The vote is not guaranteed, as Nymex shares were valued at an average of $128 per share in 2007.

The deal stands at $36 per share plus 0.1323 percent of a Chicago Mercantile Exchange share for each Nymex share, the report said.

Increasing the offer is "well within CME's financial means," Niamh Alexander, an analyst at Keefe Bruyette and Woods told Crain's.

Nymex Chief Executive Officer James Newsome said he plans to hold meetings with shareholders. "This is the beginning of the process, not the end of the process," he said.