Maple Pushes Forward With TMX Merger Plans

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

05 August 2011

Maple Group, the consortium attempting to take over the Toronto Stock Exchange operator TMX, has extended its offer by an additional month-and-a-half as talks on the deal continue.

The initial bid had originally been open for acceptance until August 8 but has now been extended to September 30, with the option of further extension or withdrawal. Maple and the TMX Group formally entered into discussions late last month after TMX pledged to consider the options available to it in the wake of the collapse of its planned LSEG merger.

Maple initially hopes to acquire a minimum of 70% and a maximum of 80% of TMX's shares as part of an integrated acquisition transaction to eventually acquire 100% of the Group's shares. Were Maple's offer to be accepted by TMX and the deal approved, TMX shares would be exchanged for CAD40 in cash, plus 0.3016 of a share of Maple. According to the consortium, this values the deal at CAD3.8bn (USD3.9bn).

Maple was formed in reaction to the LSEG deal, by a group of pension funds and banks. It is composed of: Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, CIBC World Markets Inc., Desjardins Financial Group, Dundee Capital Markets Inc., Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.), GMP Capital Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Scotia Capital Inc., TD Securities Inc. and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company.

During the extension, Maple intends to continue to work on obtaining the required regulatory approvals for the acquisition, including from the securities regulatory authorities and the Competition Bureau. The consortium has clarified that, if the regulatory approval process has not been completed by September 30, its current intention would be to further extend the offer.

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