November 30, 2017
November 30, 2017
Dear Commissioners,
I am writing to support the sale of the Chicago Stock Exchange to the group of investors led by Casin. While the number of American companies doing IPOs has been falling over the past two decades, China has become a global epicenter of IPO activity. The group of investors led by Casin, I believe, could create the bridge for China-based companies to list their IPOs on the Chicago Stock Exchange thereby also providing Americans a more direct opportunity to potentially participate in Asia's major engine of growth. If these companies do not list on the Chicago Stock Exchange I believe they would list on competing exchanges in other countries further eroding the Chicago Stock Exchange's global market share and prominence. The Chicago Stock Exchange is one of the country's oldest but it does not have to be its smallest by daily trading volumes. The sale to the group led by Casin seems to be a key opportunity for the Chicago Stock Exchange to right its ship with an injection of capital and a new channel of growth in China IPOs. The CFIUS cleared the sale of the exchange, and I believe the sale could help secure the footing of the Chicago Stock Exchange in the future. Like Chicago itself, the Chicago Stock Exchange has a great history. The Chicago Stock Exchange should not have to struggle to maintain its shrinking market share and with this sale could perhaps regain some of its past vibrancy.
Sincerely,
Gordon Faux