Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Nymex Holdings Inc., owner of the world's largest energy exchange, may be acquired as it seeks to cut costs and benefit from better access to European markets. Nymex shares rose the most in nine months.

Chairman Richard Schaeffer said in a statement that the exchange has held early-stage discussions with ``certain parties'' and any transaction would have to be at a ``meaningful premium'' to the current share price.

A surge in electronic trading is fueling consolidation in the exchange industry as investors seek to trade stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies all in one place. Computer-based trading is presenting exchanges with opportunities to reduce operating expenses. Nymex said up to $250 million a year in costs could be cut if it combined with another company.

``The really eye-opening thing is the synergies they're talking about,'' said Edward Ditmire, an analyst at investment bank Fox-Pitt, Kelton. ``They're basically saying all their expenses would be eliminated in a merger.''

Ditmire, who rates Nymex ``in-line'' and does not own shares, estimates that Nymex will have about $272 million in expenses this year.

Nymex shares gained as much as $10.57, or 8.9 percent, to $129.35 and were up 7.2 percent to $126 at 12:44 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, valuing the company at $11.7 billion. The shares more than doubled on the first day of trading on Nov. 17, to $132.99.

Takeover Talks

Nymex Holdings, parent company of Nymex, is exploring a sale to NYSE Euronext, CME Group or Deutsche Boerse AG, two people involved in the talks said in June. In the statement released late yesterday, Nymex didn't name the parties it has held discussions with.

Nymex said it may fire as many as 150 employees, 30 percent of its 500 person workforce, in a separate cost-savings plan that includes the possibility of selling its lower-Manhattan headquarters. The 15-story Nymex building in Battery Park City could be worth $500 million, the exchange said.

The company said it made its disclosure of takeover discussions after Schaeffer and Chief Executive Officer James Newsome talked earlier yesterday with unidentified institutional investors and a Deutsche Bank analyst.

Last month, Schaeffer told investors the company planned ``significant reductions'' in expenses this quarter, and cited the exchange's floor-trading as an area for cuts.

Wall Street Headquarters

Nymex officials held talks to relocate its operations to the Wall Street headquarters of NYSE Euronext, two people familiar with the matter said Aug. 6. They've also met builders and looked at land near the waterfront area of Jersey City.

``Overall, this is a confirmation of a lot of speculation that's been going on around Nymex'' Ditmire said.

In April, NYSE Group Inc. bought Euronext NV for $14.6 billion and Deutsche Boerse agreed to buy New York-based International Securities Exchange for $2.8 billion. Last month, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. bought CBOT Holdings Inc. for $11.6 billion to create CME Group Inc., the world's largest futures exchange.

Floor trading of Nymex contracts decreased 52 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, reflecting the decision to list them on CME Group Inc.'s Globex electronic system. The exchange moved to its 15-floor lower Manhattan headquarters in 1997. It previously rented space in the World Trade Center two blocks away.

Electronic Trading

Nymex has been slower to adopt electronic trading than its main energy rival, Intercontinental Exchange Inc., whose London- based ICE Futures unit scrapped floor-trading in April 2005, moving all transactions on to electronic screens.

Some Deutsche Boerse investors are wary of potential mergers and on May 11 the German exchange's chief executive officer, Reto Francioni, told shareholders that he would consult them if he wanted to make a big acquisition.

Heiner Seidel, a spokesman for Deutsche Boerse in Frankfurt, declined to comment today.

His comments in May came after Atticus Capital wrote to Deutsche Boerse saying its purchase of International Securities Exchange Holdings may hurt shareholders. Atticus was one of a group of shareholders who ousted Francioni's predecessor, Werner Seifert, over a planned takeover of London Stock Exchange Plc.

To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Leising in New York at mleising@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 22, 2007 12:55 EDT