In a move that would create Canada’s largest investment bank, Bank of Montreal unveiled a widely anticipated bid Monday to buy Toronto-based Burns Fry Ltd. for cash and stock worth up to $292 million.
Bank of Montreal said it intends to merge Burns Fry with its wholly owned Nesbitt Thomson Inc. unit and rename the combined brokerage Nesbitt Burns. Bank of Montreal said the new company would be the largest investment bank in Canada, with about 3,800 employees.
Under the deal, Burns Fry shareholders would receive $207 million in cash and special stock exchangeable for about 5 million Bank of Montreal shares.
Nesbitt Thomson’s chairman, Brian Steck, said plans are for the merged firm to make an aggressive push into the United States. Bank of Montreal already has a significant presence in the U.S. through its Chicago-based Harris Bankcorp unit, which operates mainly in the Midwest.
