Buyback Seals CBOT Deal

A big buyback plan appears to have put Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Quote) over the top in its effort to buy the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT Quote).

The CME sweetened its offer for the CBOT Friday, increasing the amount of stock it will issue to CBOT holders. But what may have won the day for the exchange was a plan to return cash to shareholders by buying back a big hunk of its stock after the merger closes.

The CME move was embraced by the CBOT board, which after two months of fence-sitting finally shunted aside an unsolicited bid from the InterContinental Exchange(ICE Quote). ICE said it is evaluating its options. ...