Maple Group may extend $3.6-bn offer for Canada's TMX

A consortium that has bid $3.6 billion for Canada's biggest sock exchange operator TMX Group yesterday said that it plans to extend its takeover offer beyond the 30 April deadline after receiving encouraging signs from regulators.

In a short release, Maple Group Acquisition Corp, a consortium of Canadian banks and pension funds, said that the Federal Competition Bureau (FDC) has been talking to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) on the terms of the deal and can impose conditions on the takeover.

The Competition Bureau said it is ''possible'' that the conditions drafted by the OSC may be enough to substantially that ''the bureau's serious concerns may be substantially mitigated.''

''It is possible that the OSC's recognition orders could materially change the regulatory environment such that if enforced, our serious concerns may be substantially mitigated,'' the FDC said in an e-mail statement to Bloomberg.

Canadian regulators are scrutinising the deal minutely since the consortium comprises of some of the country's biggest financial institutions, including four of Canada's large six banks, several of the biggest pension funds and an insurance giant.

Maple's offer for TMX Group, which is now valued at around $3.8 billion, is due to expire on Monday.