Dubai Mercantile Exchange Welcomes Saudi Tadawul Group as New Strategic Shareholder

Further to the announcement made on 18 January 2024 with respect to a binding agreement to acquire a 32.6% strategic stake in DME Holdings Limited, Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company (the Group), a leading diversified capital markets group in the MENA region, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition in DME Holdings Limited, one of the leading international commodities exchanges. As a result of the transaction, the Group is the joint largest shareholder in DME Holdings Limited alongside CME Group, with other shareholders including the Oman Investment Authority and Dubai Holding as well as global financial and commercial industry leaders. Consequently, DME will be rebranded as the GME.
The investment from the Group represents a significant opportunity to leverage world-class capabilities and expertise, accelerating GME’s growth as a regional commodities leader that is well-positioned to capture global commodity demand. It will support a strategic move towards leveraging the Middle East’s geographic proximity to both key commodity production hubs and end-markets, with GME serving as a bridge between production and end-markets. Furthermore, the partnership will enable GME to capture demand for energy, metals, and agricultural commodity markets and support the ongoing global transition to a sustainable economy through the launch of next-generation derivatives contracts.
Background Information
Dubai Mercantile Exchange
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) is the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, providing a financially secure, well-regulated and transparent trading environment.
The DME is majority owned by core shareholders Tatweer (a subsidiary of Dubai Holding), Oman Investment Fund and CME Group. Global financial institutions and energy trading firms such as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Shell, Vitol and Concord Energy have taken equity stakes in the DME, providing the exchange with a resounding vote of confidence by major players in global energy markets.
The DME is a fully electronic exchange, and its contracts are listed on the CME Globex platform, the world’s leading electronic trading platform, providing access to the broadest array of futures and options products available on any exchange. The DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and all trades executed on the exchange are cleared through and guaranteed by NYMEX (a member of CME Group), which is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a recognized body by the DFSA.