Canadians launch counterbid for TMX

"MAPLE" Syrup used to glue all the partners...

Four pension funds have joined with banks in the deal, which offers TMX shareholders C$48 a share for the group, 70 per cent of that in cash and the rest in shares, a person familiar with the situation said. For every TMX share held, TMX shareholders would be offered C$33.52 in cash, up to a maximum of C$2.5bn, and 0.3016 of one share in the new TMX entity. TMX shares closed at C$41.75 on Friday.

This would give the bank and funds consortium, codenamed “Maple”, 60 per cent of the group, with existing shareholders holding the rest.

The funds are Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board – which manages Canada’s public pension plan, the biggest in the country – and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation.

Banks leading the offer are Toronto-Dominion, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Quebec-based National Bank of Canada.

It was not clear whether the two banks advising the LSE on the TMX deal, Royal Bank of Canada and BMO, will join the counter-offer