www.amex.com/amextrader
THIS NOTICE CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING TRADING RIGHTS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ACQUISITION OF THE AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE ("AMEX") BY NYSE EURONEXT.
On August 19th, 2008, the Amex disseminated a notice regarding the issuance of 86 Trinity Permits (REG 2008-32). 86 Trinity Permits are being issued by the Amex so that there will be no interruption of operations after the acquisition by NYSE Euronext is completed. This notice is the final reminder for firms that have not submitted the 86 Trinity Permit form to do so immediately. The Amex anticipates SEC approval of, and completion of the merger imminently. As a result, 86 Trinity Permits may be required to continue operations on the Amex as early as the end of this week.
Background
The Amex Membership Corporation ("MC"), which owns the Amex, is being acquired by NYSE Euronext, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange LLC ("NYSE") and NYSE Arca, Inc. ("NYSE Arca"). Following the completion of the acquisition, MC will be demutualized and the Exchange will be renamed "NYSE Alternext US LLC".
Immediately following the completion of the acquisition, it is anticipated that the relocation of listing and/or trading of Exchange products will, in some cases, occur fairly quickly after the closing of the acquisition, however there will still be a period of time (referred to herein as the "Transition Period") in which the products currently traded on the Exchange will continue to trade on the trading floor and trading systems at 86 Trinity Place. The acquisition and related demutualization will result in the cancellation of all trading rights relating to Regular Memberships, Options Principal Memberships ("OPMs"), and Associate memberships including electronic access memberships existing immediately prior to the acquisition. The 86 Trinity Permit will succeed the cancelled forms of membership and be required to continue accessing the Exchange Floor and systems during the Transition Period.
Action to be taken should a member or member organization fail to obtain an approved 86 Trinity Permit in advance of the closing date
In order to be in compliance with Amex rules, the Amex will be forced to take several actions following SEC approval and closing of the transaction. In the absence of an executed and approved 86 Trinity Permit on the day after the closing of the merger transaction, Amex will disable order entry mnemonics and/or clearing symbol/ number of firms that access Amex systems via the Common Message Switch (CMS) or the Comp-ID of firms that access Amex systems via Financial Information Exchange protocol (FIX). The Exchange will also cancel open orders (GTC) associated with the order entry mnemonics and Comp-IDs that were disabled.
Applications for 86 Trinity Permits
Attached to this Notice is the 86 Trinity Permit Application form; an electronic version of the form can be found on the Amextrader.com website in the Membership Section-Forms and Applications. All members and member organizations seeking to continue to trade on the Amex during the Transition Period are required to complete the 86 Trinity Permit Application and return it to the Membership & Registration Department as soon as possible so that trading after the acquisition closes will not be interrupted. No member or member organization will be allowed to continue trading at 86 Trinity after the acquisition unless an 86 Trinity Permit Application has been submitted to and approved by the Membership & Registration Department of the Exchange. This includes members and member firms with a physical presence on the Trading Floor, those routing orders electronically through Exchange systems, and/or clearing firms. While the date of the closing of the acquisition has not yet been determined, please note that we currently expect the acquisition to close imminently. We strongly recommend that interested persons submit the 86 Trinity Permit Application immediately.For further information, please contact the Membership & Registration Department staff at 212-306-5959.