By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

CHICAGO, Ill. — Open outcry trading will continue in the pits on the Chicago Board of Trade’s (CBOT) iconic trading floor, despite plans announced by CME – the former Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, which took control of the historic building when it purchased the BOT in 2007 for $11 billion – to market parts of the CBOT complex for sale.

As part of the 2007 transition, CME Group merged the two groups’ trading floors into the CBOT building. CME received $15 million in aid from the city of Chicago in 2010 for renovations to the building, according to the Financial Times. Called “one of Chicago’s great skyscrapers” by the Chicago Tribune, the CBOT complex, consisting of three structures – including the main tower (north building), the “annex” (south building) and the east building – is again in transition following CME’s announcement.

Grain and other traders can rest assured the transition will not affect the normal trading routine, according to Chris Grams, assistant director of agricultural commodities for CME Group.

“Nothing changes (regarding trading),” Grams said. “This is only a sale of parts of the north and south buildings. We’re going to retain the east building, and we have a (15-year) lease-back on the space in the north building where our office and trade floor are located, so there will be no disruption of trading.”
CME will enter into a long-term lease of the agricultural commodities trading facilities, while Jones Lang LaSalle and Holly Duran Real Estate Partners search for buyers for CBOT’s north and south buildings.

“The sale of the CBOT north and south buildings will enable CME Group to continue to reinvest in our core derivatives business, while still leasing about 150,000 square feet in the north and south buildings, including the agricultural trading floor,” said Jamie Parisi, CME Group chief financial officer, in a June 13 statement announcing the marketing of parts of the building for sale.
CME stressed the tradition of open outcry trading will continue at the CBOT. “Both outcry and electronic trading are important venues for trading,” said Grams. “We remain committed to these venues and will continue to offer them to all market participants as long as they find value in them.”

Constructed in 1930 and designated a historic landmark in 1978, the property at 141 W. Jackson Boulevard in Chicago’s Central Loop is widely known for its art deco architecture and three-story sculpture of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain. Though the building was originally commissioned for the CBOT, its first tenant was the Quaker Oats Co.