By Gurmukh Singh
Toronto, May 26 (IANS) Even as the Toronto Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange Wednesday announced to hold special shareholder meetings June 30 to seek vote on their proposed merger, the rival Canadian group seeking to acquire the Toronto bourse launched a hostile takeover bid.
The announcement in Toronto by the TMX Group Inc., which controls the Toronto Stock Exchange, came after the local Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued an interim order allowing it to go ahead with shareholders' meeting to approve the merger with the London bourse.
A similar statement was issued by the London Stock Exchange to seek shareholders' approval for the merger.
The Toronto and London stock exchanges announced in February to merge to create a new global mega-bourse. The two bourses will form a nearly $7-billion giant entity with offices in Toronto and London for trading stocks, derivatives and other financial assets.
The Toronto Stock Exchange had last week rejected a rival bid by Maple Group comprising nine Canadian banks and pension funds to acquire it for $3.6 billion to scuttle the foreign takeover of the country's largest market.
After the two bourses announced their shareholder meetings June 30 to seal the merger, the rejected Maple Group said it was mounting a hostile takeover bid for the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In a statement, Luc Bertrand, an executive with the National Bank of Canada, who is leading the hostile bid on behalf of Maple Group, said: "They have given us no choice but to make our offer available directly to TMX Group shareholders. If at some later date the board wishes to engage with us, we will be pleased to have that discussion."
Maple Group comprises top Canadian banks, including Scotiabank, Toronto Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, as well as major Canadian pension funds.
A review of the merger deal by the Canadian government is also pending as Ottawa wants to ensure that it will not negatively impact the country's financial sector or dilute Toronto's importance as a major market and banking centre in North America.
The 150-year-old Toronto Stock Exchange is the biggest resource (energy and mining) leader, with about 1,500 companies listed on it.