TMX board backs Maple Group takeover bid after four months of negotiations

The TMX board has come around to the once-hostile $3.8-million takeover bid by Maple Group, a consortium of 13 Canadian banks, insurers and pension funds. The new follows the death of a possible merger between the Toronto and London stock exchanges this past summer, news many one-percenters on Bay Street greeted with glee (for more on the TSX-LSE merger, read Tony Keller’s piece in the June issue of Toronto Life). Regarding the Maple offer, TMX board members were originally worried about “debt, competition, and regulatory concerns”—but apparently that’s ancient history after four months of negotiations. Now all the group needs is regulatory approval—the main concern being that the merger could create a monopoly that would crush smaller traders. But, really, when have enormous financial institutions been bad for anyone? Read the entire story [CTV] »