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A Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) sign is seen outside of a branch in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 26, 2016.Chris Wattie/Reuters

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. and its largest stakeholder, Toronto-Dominion Bank, are nearing a deal to buy online brokerage Scottrade Financial Services Inc. for $4-billion (U.S.), according to people with knowledge of the matter.

TD Ameritrade would acquire Scottrade's brokerage operations for about $2.7-billion in cash and stock, while Toronto-Dominion would purchase Scottrade's banking operations for $1.3-billion in cash, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks aren't public. The takeover may be announced as soon as Monday before markets open in North America, the people said.

The transaction would combine two of the largest online brokerages, an industry under pressure from lower trading volumes and sluggish revenue growth. Such platforms are used by consumers, wealth advisers and other investors to trade securities outside of traditional brokerages. Bloomberg reported last month that Scottrade was working with an adviser to explore a sale. The St. Louis Business Journal reported the pending agreement on Saturday.

A representative for the Toronto-based bank declined to comment, and representatives for Omaha, Nebraska-based TD Ameritrade and Town & Country, Missouri-based Scottrade didn't respond to messages outside of normal business hours.

Toronto-Dominion Bank owns more than 42 per cent of TD Ameritrade, qualifying it as a non-bank subsidiary of the Canadian lender under U.S. banking regulations.

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 4:15pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
D-N
Dominion Energy Inc
+1.38%49.19
TD-N
Toronto Dominion Bank
-0.43%60.38
TD-T
Toronto-Dominion Bank
-0.63%81.75

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