TD may back out of deal

Article Excerpt

TD BANK, $79.41, (Toronto symbol TD; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $148.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.td.com) agreed in March 2022 to acquire U.S. banking firm First Horizon Corporation (New York symbol FHN) for $13.4 billion U.S. However, due to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and two other regional U.S. banks, First Horizon’s shares have dropped to $17.20 U.S. That’s 31.2% below TD’s offer price of $25.00 U.S. (plus an extra $0.65 a share due to the delayed approval). It’s possible that TD may cancel the takeover if regulators continue to delay the transaction, or if First Horizon’s shares remain well below the offer price. It may also try to re-negotiate a lower takeover price. Under certain circumstances, First Horizon will have to pay TD a termination fee of $435.5 million U.S. if it is unable to complete the transaction. In other cases, TD would have to pay $25 million U.S. to First Horizon. TD Bank is still a buy…