The Maple Group of Canadian pension funds and banks have formally presented their $3.7 billion hostile bid for TMX to the exchange's shareholders.
The Maple proposition vies with the London Stock Exchange's friendly $3.5 billion bid.
Both bids will be presented to TMX shareholders at a crucial vote later this month.
Luc Bertrand, Maple's chief spokesman and vice-chairman of Quebec-based National Bank, emphasised that the home-grown offer is a one-time only chance to derail TMX's favoured transAtlantic tie-up with the LSE: "TMX Group shareholders should be aware that Maple's offer can only proceed if the LSE take-over plan does not."
Maple swelled its membership ahead of the offer with the addition of Desjardins Financial Group, GMP Capital Inc, Dundee Capital Markets and Manulife Financial on Sunday. This brings four new institutional investors to the original consortium of four banks and five pension funds.
The Maple bid is complicated by the consortium's involvement with the Alpha ATS, a direct rival to TMX that it likely to spike the interest of Canadian competition adjudicators.