On March 1, 2017, CBOE Holdings, Inc. announced that it completed its acquisition of Bats Global Markets, Inc. on Feb. 28. The Bats acquisition improves CBOE's business risk profile through added product and geographical diversification, offset by increased leverage. As a result, we are affirming our 'BBB+' long-term issuer credit rating on CBOE as well as our 'BBB+' issue credit rating on the company's US$650 million senior unsecured notes due 2027. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the company will reduce leverage, with funds from operations-to-debt approaching 35% over the next two years, while successfully integrating Bats into the wider group. On March 17, 2017, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BBB+' long-term issuer credit rating on CBOE Holdings, Inc.
