Billionaire David Thomson wants to outbid Galen Weston for the Hudson’s Bay charter
The great Canadian plutocrat bidding war
Last month, the Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it was seeking court approval to sell the royal charter that established the historic business to the Weston family. Issued by King Charles in 1670, the decree handed over a huge chunk of land and rights to the fledgling fur company (Indigenous rights be damned).
Related: The Weston family just bid a whopping $12.5 million on the Hudson’s Bay charter
The Westons, Canada’s third-richest family, were planning to pay a cool $12.5 million for the document and donate it to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. When the offer was announced, it seemed like a done deal.
But, apparently, those events represented only the first 30 seconds of what would become a special two-part Canadian Heritage Minute. The latest plot twist: David Thomson, a member of Canada’s richest family, is now offering $15 million for the document, which he hopes to place in the Archives of Manitoba.
Related: The Chinese billionaire behind the Bay’s acquisition says she may move to Toronto
This isn’t the United States, so the key players aren’t pleading their cases publicly on Fox News. Instead, it’s all playing out in a more reserved Canadian way, via private holding companies, behind-the-scenes legal battles and sworn affidavits.
One director at Thomson’s holding company, DRKT, says the billionaire was “taken aback” by the Westons’ purchase price—as if $12.5 million were a No Frills offer on a PC Premium product.
Thomson is now suggesting that the charter be put up for open auction. That was the original plan when the Bay filed for creditor protection back in March, announcing its intention to put over 1,700 pieces of art and 2,700 artifacts on the auction blocks.
Thomson is certainly familiar with auctions. His collection of rare and valuable art is one of the few things the public knows about the enigmatic billionaire. (That and the fact that he was briefly engaged to Kelly Rowan, who played the mom on The O.C.)
Still, the Weston family isn’t likely to give up. And who knows? Now that royal charters seem to be the new private jets among Canada’s elite, maybe Edward Rogers will want in on the action. May the best wealthy white man sitting on a heap of family money win.
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
