With less than two weeks to go before TMX Group Inc. shareholders must choose which suitor they prefer, the campaign of spin being fought by would-be partners London Stock Exchange Group PLC and Maple Group shows no signs of letting up.
TMX and LSE shareholders both vote on their companies' merger plan on June 30.
Maple, the group of 13 Canadian financial institutions that wants to buy TMX, has been critical of LSE for not saying it would give TMX shareholders a second vote on the LSE-TMX merger plan should there be material changes demanded by regulators. According to the LSE-TMX plan, as disclosed in their circular, only the LSE shareholders would get a second vote if, after the first round of voting, there must be alterations to the merger agreement to suit regulators.
Thursday, the LSE sought to clarify that shareholders of both LSE and TMX would get a second vote if need be, saying that the fact that a second vote for LSE is explicitly mentioned and TMX is not is a quirk of different disclosure requirements.
"Of course both sets of shareholders will have the opportunity to vote again if the circumstances require it" David Lester, the LSE's head of information services, said in a statement. "The express reference to LSEG shareholder approval rights in the Circular simply reflects the different UK and Canadian disclosure requirements. It is absolutely not the case that one set of shareholders would be shown favouritism or bias."