Regulators and rivals weigh how the takeover could reshape costs, competition, and listings
TMX Group’s latest deal would fold a major rival back into the Toronto Stock Exchange, and market veterans warn that step could weaken competition and edge Canada towards a de facto monopoly in core market infrastructure.
TMX Group said it will acquire Cboe Global Markets’ Canadian and Australian equities businesses, including Cboe Canada and Cboe Australia, for US$300m.
BNN Bloomberg reports the price at about $409m.
TMX chief financial officer David Arnold told analysts the company expects to fund the deal with a mix of cash and debt, Reuters said.
The two units brought in about $87m in revenue and roughly $25m in adjusted EBITDA in 2025, according to TMX and Cboe data cited by the same outlet.
TMX chief executive John McKenzie framed the move as a strategic expansion into a core sector and new geography.
The outlet reported that the deal “further deepens the footprint of the owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange in the mining industry” and includes the Cboe Canada and Cboe Australia exchanges.
McKenzie told Reuters the acquisition “allows us to build into a new market on the other side of the world that happens to be the second strongest mining resource market in the world,” calling it “such a strong, natural fit for us,” in reference to Australia’s position in global mining.
The Logic reported that McKenzie also linked the transaction to higher‑growth lines such as derivatives, digital assets, and prediction markets, and said TMX aims to keep Cboe’s platforms and pricing in place while lowering access costs for market participants.
He told the publication that Canada remains “one of the most open markets in the world,” with 19 trading venues and no structural barriers to entry, and described venues such as the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and Tradelogiq as “meaningful players” with real market share.
Asked whether TMX would maintain Cboe’s often lower fees, he said TMX’s pricing is “just as competitive,” adding that fees will continue to be shaped primarily by competition with US exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.
“The market for capital and trading is North America. It is not Canada,” he said in that interview.
Even so, several industry figures see a risk that the deal will reduce choice, particularly on the listings side.
In a LinkedIn post, Som Seif, founder and CEO at Purpose Unlimited, questioned “how this is allowed to happen from a competition perspective” as TMX pursues CBOE Canada.
He said Alpha’s arrival drove prices lower and sped up innovation, but that pressure faded once TMX bought Alpha.
He wrote that NEO’s launch — and its later sale to Cboe Canada — again shifted the landscape in ways he saw as better for “industry, consumers and the economy.”
Seif warned that “we risk returning to a monopoly in the very infrastructure that underpins our capital markets.”
He wrote that competition in the utilities that support capital formation “is not a nice‑to‑have” but “essential to Canadian prosperity,” and said he hopes the Competition Bureau and Ottawa “study this carefully,” adding, “All I care about is Canada winning. This would be a step in the wrong direction.”
Tradelogiq CEO Laurence Rose, who had explored a bid for Cboe Canada, told The Logic the TMX deal “consolidates competition by reducing the number of exchange operators from four to three in Canada,” but said the impact differs between trading and listings.
On the trading side, he noted there are still more than a dozen venues operated by multiple players, so the number of execution platforms may not change materially.
On the listings side, however, he said the transaction raises “more serious concerns,” as it reduces options for companies and ETFs looking to go public.
As of March 31, the same outlet reported, the TSX had 2,149 listed issuers and the TSX Venture Exchange 1,524, while the CSE counted 739 listings and Cboe Canada hosted more than 400 securities, including ETFs, Canadian depositary receipts and operating companies.
The outlet also noted that Rose expects the deal to face close scrutiny from the Competition Bureau and that approval may not be all‑or‑nothing, with regulators potentially allowing parts of the transaction while requiring others to be divested or remain with their original owners.
The deal is part of a broader reshaping at Cboe.
Reuters reported that Cboe described the sale as a key step in a strategic realignment announced in October last year, when it said it would explore selling the Canadian and Australian units as part of a portfolio review.
In July last year, Cboe decided to wind down its Japanese equities business, citing evolving business conditions that challenged the financial sustainability of its operations in that market.
Cboe chief executive Craig Donohue said the TMX transaction would allow the company to reallocate resources and capital toward strengthening its core businesses “for further growth and profitability,” while pursuing opportunities in new and emerging areas.
McKenzie told Reuters it was helpful that Cboe put its “strategic intent” into the public domain, saying that while it created “a competitive process” with many interested parties, it also enabled “advanced discussions with regulatory bodies, both in Canada and Australia.”
The same article reported that Barclays is acting as financial adviser to Cboe, with Sidley Austin, Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Mallesons as legal counsel, while Canaccord Genuity and Macquarie Capital advised TMX.
