Source:  The Wall Street Journal             Date: 09 June, 2011

A group of big Canadian banks and pension funds bidding for TMX Group Inc. are in talks to lure at least three, and possibly four, other financial-services firms to join their consortium. The consortium, Maple Group Acquisition Corp., last month unveiled a counterbid for TMX in an effort to upset a merger deal struck between TMX and London Stock Exchange Group PLC, announced in February. TMX shareholders are due to vote on that proposed tie-up later this month. The added heft to Maple could bolster its bid in the eyes of shareholders, who are now being wooed by both sides ahead of the June 30 meeting.

Maple has proposed creating an integrated equities-and-derivatives exchange, and a clearinghouse for equities and fixed-income investments, in Canada as a way to generate growth from existing operations and through acquisitions. It has proposed merging TMX, the operator of Canada's flagship Toronto Stock Exchange, with Canada's equities clearinghouse and Alpha Group, an alternative-trading platform owned by Canada's big banks.

TMX's board has said it opposes Maple's bid on the grounds it doesn't offer enough of a takeover premium. It also believes the deal will saddle TMX with too much debt. TMX and LSE say their stock-swap merger, billed as a tie-up of equals, is superior since it gives the two exchanges global stature amid a wave of consolidation among exchanges. Both bids face regulatory hurdles. A TMX-LSE deal needs approval from Canada's industries ministry, as well as from the securities regulators of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. A Maple transaction would need regulatory approval from the country's Competition Bureau.