Consortium led by big banks wants to prevent foreign purchase of TMX
Maple Group Acquisition Corp. has launched an aggressive bid to prevent the London Stock Exchange Group PLC’s proposed purchase of TMX Group and to acquire it for itself. The consortium, led by four of Canada’s largest banks, kicked off its bid for the TMX by mailing its offer to TMX shareholders. It also simultaneously launched an effort to convince TMX shareholders to vote against the LSE takeover deal, calling TMX “a great Canadian success story.” In the offer, Maple Group said they will ensure the TMX remains headquartered in Canada, while alleging that an LSE takeover would negatively affect Canada’s standing as an international financial centre. TMX shareholders will vote on whether to accept the proposed LSE takeover on June 30. There is speculation that the federal government may step in to prevent the foreign takeover, as they did last year when Ottawa blocked BHP Billiton’s bid for Saskatchewan’s Potash Corp.