Minneapolis Grain Exchange Being Sold

While its regional peers that once dotted the U.S. have disappeared or been swallowed up by much larger conglomerates, the 139-year-old Minneapolis Grain Exchange has had the distinction in recent years of being the last agricultural futures exchange operating on its own. But soon that too will change, reports theStar Tribune.

“The Minneapolis Grain Exchange is like this holdover from a different era,” Austin Damiani, one of its 402 members who voted overwhelmingly to approve its sale, told theStar Tribune. “We’re the last of the independent exchanges ... and we’re standing up against these giants.”

The grain exchange is being acquired for $275,000 per membership seat, or $111 million in cash and stock. Its new owner is not one of the two heavyweights that dominate the industry that many had thought would eventually snap it up. Rather, it’s Miami International Holdings, a newer and rapidly growing player in the exchanges space.

The deal is expected to close next month.