TD buying Cowen for US$1.3B in U.S. investment banking push
BNN Bloomberg
The Toronto-Dominion Bank confirmed Tuesday morning that it has agreed to buy Cowen Inc. in its latest U.S. takeover.
Under the terms of the deal, TD will pay US$1.3 billion, or US$39 per share, in cash to buy the New York-based investment bank. TD said it sold 28.4 million shares in The Charles Schwab Corp. to finance the transaction; as a result, TD said the deal will be neutral to its Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio.
"Cowen is a leading independent dealer with a premier U.S. equities business and a strong, diversified investment bank that, when combined with TD Securities, will allow us to accelerate our strategic U.S. growth plans," said TD President and Chief Executive Officer Bharat Masrani in a release.
The deal has been a source of speculation for weeks, after Bloomberg News reported in early July that talks were underway. The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that a deal for more than US$1 billion could be announced as early as today.
