Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken took the stage as keynote speaker at Wednesday's Canadian Dealmakers gala and declared she would not talk about her stance on the Maple Group bid for TMX Group Inc. X-T -- but there was a strong message to would-be acquirers such as Maple, nonetheless.
Some of Maple's members have quietly put forward the argument that the group, which is made up of 13 of the country's largest financial institutions, should be allowed to buy TMX and create a dominant Canadian exchange operator because it would create a so-called Canadian champion.
What's more, the argument goes, Maple is a group of Canadian champions, including big banks, and so should be afforded latitude. Didn't they chase away London Stock Exchange Group PLC and its attempt to scoop up TMX, thus keeping the company in Canadian hands?
But size and importance clearly don't faze Ms. Aitken, who declared that her role is not to "coddle" Canadian champions.
It may not have been directed at Maple principals, many of whom had officials in the audience, but the message was still clear. The idea that Maple buying TMX would create a Canadian champion is clearly not weighing too heavily in Ms. Aitken's calculations.
