TORONTO – TMX Group and the London Stock Exchange Group have settled on LTMX Group plc as a name for the proposed transatlantic exchange operator.
The name, which will be adopted if shareholders of both companies approve the deal and the renaming, was revealed in an information circular distributed to LSE Group shareholders Wednesday.
The TMX Group, the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange and other Canadian exchanges, said in its circular to shareholders that the new name was chosen to reflect the merged company’s international profile.
The packages were sent out and filed with regulators in advance of a shareholder vote slated to be held June 30 at both operators. The TMX circular urged shareholders to vote immediately on the deal, saying that “time is of the essence.”
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The TMX Group is pushing ahead with the merger after rejecting a $3.6-billion alternative cash and share proposal by Maple Group Acquisition Corp., a Canadian consortium of banks and pension funds, saying the bid breeds too many uncertainties, including regulatory and debt risks.
Maple Group also plans to go directly to shareholders this month, by mailing them information on their $48 per share proposal, although it has yet to file a formal bid.
The Maple Group proposal announced earlier this month is meant to keep the TMX in Canadian ownership after many bank and government officials raised concerns about the so-called “merger of equals” with the LSE, which is technically a takeover as LSE will own 55 per cent of the company.
The merger is subject to approval from various Canadian regulators, including a review under the Investment Canada Act, which must determine if the merger is “of net benefit” to Canada.
The TMX Group said in its circular that it had been in talks with a “third party” since February 2010, that reached an impasse after the potential buyer couldn’t agree to terms surrounding the “net benefit” requirements. Previous media reports have indicated that buyer was the Nasdaq group, which also recently made a play for the New York Stock Exchange.
The TMX said it had been talking informally to the LSE Group since 2009, and discussions turned more formal last October. It said it considered the LSE proposal superior to an acquisition by the third party “and considerably more likely to be achievable.”
In considering both bids, the TMX Group said it determined any transaction must protect and enhance the interests of shareholders, achieve net benefits to Canada and preserve the Canadian securities regulatory regime.
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