Tue May 8, 2012 10:30am EDT
* Competition Bureau says working closely with OSC
* Talking to market about draft terms and conditions
TORONTO May 8 (Reuters) - Canada's Competition Bureau is studying the Ontario Securities Commission's draft terms and conditions for approving Maple Group's proposed takeover of Toronto Stock Exchange-operator TMX Group, the head of the bureau said on Tuesday.
Competition Bureau Commissioner Melanie Aitken said the commission will issue its own views on the proposed deal after the OSC publishes its final terms and conditions.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit in Toronto, Aitken said the commission was working intensely alongside the OSC, which is Canada's main securities regulator.
"That's really the responsible thing to do. They have an expertise that we don't, and we have a contribution to make from the perspective of what competitive consequences those transactions might have if they go ahead," she said.
"We are talking to the market about their reaction to the elements contained in the draft orders, all with the view of evaluating what we are charged with; evaluating whether, at the end of the day, there is a substantial lessening of competition in any of the markets affected," she added.
Maple Group, a consortium of 13 Canadian financial institutions, unveiled its C$3.8 billion ($3.8 billion) offer for TMX Group last year.
The publication of the OSC's draft orders last week was seen as moving the consortium a step closer to completing what has been a long and complicated takeover process.
The Competition Bureau has raised concerns about the deal's impact on competition.
"Those recognition orders, depending on what they finally look like, may still sufficiently change the regulatory landscape so that our concerns that we indicated to the parties back in November may be substantially mitigated," Aitken said.
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