Reuters exclusively reported that Canada’s competition regulator had stepped up its antitrust probe into Smith Financials’ C$1.7 bid for mortgage lender Home Capital, in a sign the deal could see and extended review. In a statement to Reuters, Canada’s competition bureau said it has asked the parties to provide additional information to help decide whether the transaction would lessen competition in the industry. Smith Financials’ bid for Home Capital was the second M&A deal in Canada’s already consolidated banking sector last year, and investors are closely watching every move of the commission for clues on whether the deal will be approved or blocked.
Canada regulator steps up antitrust review of Smith Financial bid for Home Capital
04 April 2023, 2:19 pm 1 minute
Market Impact
Shareholders voted 99.8% in favor of approving the deal at a special meeting on Feb. 8. If Smith Financial does not close the deal before the May 20 deadline, it has to pay shareholders an extra 25 Canadian cents per share for every three months of delay.
Article Tags
Type: Reuters Best
Sectors: Business & Finance
Regions: Americas
Countries: Canada
Win Types: Exclusivity
Story Types: Exclusive / Scoop
Media Types: Text
Customer Impact: Significant National Story