The LSE and Maple Group strive for advantage ahead of next week’s shareholder votes
The battle for Toronto exchange operator TMX Group got a little more expensive yesterday as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) put a C$660 mn ($678 mn) special dividend on the table for shareholders. This morning rival Maple Group followed suit, boosting its hostile bid from C$48 a share to C$50. Maple also raised the proportion of cash in the deal from 70 percent to a maximum of 80 percent. Each suitor promised that maintaining dividend levels wouldn’t be a problem.
Earlier in the week Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) had recommended that LSE shareholders vote for the proposed merger with TMX Group. The move echoed Glass Lewis & Co’s proxy recommendation aimed at TSX shareholders. Still, as the clock ticks toward a proxy showdown at month’s end, the market still awaits a likely ISS recommendation for TSX shareholders and the contenders remain locked in an intense battle for the hearts and minds of investors.
‘We completely understand why the transaction would be very much in the interest of LSE shareholders,’ comments Peter Block, a Maple Group spokesperson. ‘Having no competing bid also makes a recommendation easier. We’ll see what happens on the TMX side.’
In its recommendation to LSE shareholders, ISS endorsed the LSE’s friendly C$3.2 bn deal with TMX, reasoning that ‘no issues have been identified with the process, nor with the shape of the board following the merger and the strategic case is acknowledged.’ ISS noted that ‘opposition to the deal has come mainly from TMX shareholders and little opposition has been expressed from LSE investors.’
In its report, Glass Lewis (owned by a key backer of Maple Group) called Maple’s proposed transaction ‘strategically compelling’ but recommended TSX shareholders vote for the London tie-up largely on the basis that ‘the LSE merger has a greater probability of obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals.’
Maple Group, a consortium of 13 Canadian financial institutions, insurance companies and pension funds, shot back with a vigorous rebuttal. A June 17 release called the information and analysis contained in the Glass Lewis report ‘deeply flawed’: ‘These errors draw into question whether Glass Lewis properly considered or even read the Maple Group Offering Circular... or Maple’s recent investor presentation.’
Consolidation debate
Luc Bertrand, chief spokesperson for Maple Group, said in a speech on Monday that the LSE transaction is more takeover than merger and means less influence for Canada. ‘Why offer the TMX on a silver platter to the LSE, and what are we getting in return?’ asked Bertrand, a former president of the Montreal Exchange and vice chairman of National Bank Financial. ‘Why should we give up to a lesser regulatory environment when the one we currently have has worked so incredibly well for us and has made Canada literally the envy of the world when it comes to the management of our capital markets?’
According to Block, what issuers get in return is largely the ‘promise’ of more interlistings and liquidity. ‘But looking at recent cross-Atlantic and European exchange mergers, there’s no evidence of that,’ he says. ‘Just because the LSE owns the TMX doesn’t mean it will help a junior oil and gas company raise money out of Europe.’
Kevan Cowan, president of TSX markets and group head of equities, begs to differ. Pointing to the wave of consolidation and internationalization sweeping the exchange business, Cowan told a group of CIRI members on June 6 that access to a larger liquidity pool would augment opportunities for lower-cost capital raising.
‘By bringing the exchanges together, we would have more connectivity to international investors,’ said Cowan. ‘There would be lots of new eyeballs introduced to Canadian listed companies.’ He added that the combined entity proposed in his deal would have more than 6,700 listings and provide ‘the critical mass to bring more services to our issuers.’
TMX and LSE shareholders will vote on June 30. TMX needs a two-thirds vote while the LSE needs a majority vote to proceed with the deal.
