The International Securities Exchange Inc. may raise as much as $184.9 million in an initial public offering, becoming the first U.S. stock-options market to sell shares to the public.
The exchange plans to sell 4 million shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday. Its shareholders are selling more than 6 million shares at $14 to $16 each, the filing said.
The ISE’s electronic-only trading system vaulted it from a start-up in 2000 to the nation’s biggest stock-options exchange, forcing the Chicago Board Options Exchange and other floor-based markets to boost computer-based trading.
The change has benefited investors, said Tom Sosnoff, who runs Chicago-based brokerage Thinkorswim Inc.
“The ISE was the best thing to happen to options customers because they forced technology into the industry,” said Sosnoff.
