Toronto-Dominion Bank to buy TD Waterhouse Group for 2.16 times revenue

Weekly Corporate Growth Report, Oct 22, 2001

Featured Transaction

The Deal: Toronto-Dominion Bank has agreed to purchase TD Waterhouse Group for $3.405 billion. The acquisition give Toronto-Dominion a strong player in the online dis count brokerage market.

Discussion: TD Waterhouse Group is one of the largest online brokerages in the world, only shadowed by such rivals as Charles Schwab and FMR. The company offers securities and bond trading, mutual funds and other investment and retirement-product sales, as well as research, news, and other investment tools and information over the Internet, wireless devices and the phone. TD Waterhouse also has more than 230 offices in Asia, Europe and North America. Although the United States is its largest market, accounting for about 65 percent of sales, the firm is expanding its operations into Asia and Europe through acquisitions and partnerships.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is the third-largest bank in Canada, following giant RBC Financial Group. Toronto-Dominion Bank's retail and business services include deposits, credit cards, loans, trusts and investment banking. It also offers financial and advisory services internationally. After the government opposed its planned merger with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion acquired CT Financial Services from British American Tobacco, making the company one the top of the retail banking companies.