Baltic Exchange board backs SGX bid for London firm

SINGAPORE, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange board has unanimously backed a takeover bid from Singapore Exchange Ltd , a deal that will give SGX access to a trading platform for the multi-billion dollar freight derivatives market.

On Aug. 4, SGX offered shareholders in London's privately owned Baltic Exchange 160.41 pounds in cash per share, for a total 77.6 million pounds ($102 million), and urged them to back the deal.

The exchanges have agreed on the terms of the SGX offer, they said in a joint statement on Monday.

"The proposed acquisition will accelerate the growth and development of the Baltic Exchange beyond what it could achieve on its own," Baltic Exchange Chairman Guy Campbell said.

Founded in 1744 as a forum for chartering vessels, the Baltic Exchange now produces benchmark indexes for global shipping rates. SGX's offer comes as freight costs wallow at record lows, after a slump in commodity markets coincided with an increase in the number of vessels.

($1 = 0.7633 pounds) (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and Anshuman Daga; editing by David Clarke)