BNS joins TMX bid

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $58.14, Toronto symbol BNS, has joined a new consortium called Maple Group Acquisition Corp. Other members include CIBC, TD Bank, National Bank and five major pension funds. Maple wants to buy a controlling interest in TMX GROUP $45, Toronto symbol X, which operates the Toronto Stock Exchange. TMX has already accepted a takeover offer from the London Stock Exchange. (Note that Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal are advising on that potential merger. That’s why they are not part of Maple.) Under Maple’s bid, TMX would merge with Alpha Group (a rival exchange formed by Canadian banks and brokerage firms in 2007) and the Canadian Depository for Securities, which processes stock and bond trades. TMX shareholders would own 40% of the new company, the pension funds would own 35% and the banks would own 25%. Maple says its offer is worth $48.00 per TMX share. TMX shares now trade at $44.32, or 7.7% below the Maple bid. That’s because investors…