TORONTO, Feb. 6 /CNW/ - TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG) today confirmed
it has entered into an arrangement to increase its direct ownership of TD
Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD) by approximately 5%. Under the terms of
a TD Ameritrade Stockholders Agreement, TDBFG's ownership of TD Ameritrade has
been limited to 39.9%. This limit increased to 45% on January 24, 2009.
"We continue to be rewarded for our investment in TD Ameritrade, as it
delivers great performance despite the difficult market environment," said Ed
Clark, President and Chief Executive Officer, TDBFG. "As we've said before,
it's been our intention for some time to take advantage of this opportunity to
increase our ownership stake in this strong franchise. Now the largest retail
broker in the U.S. as measured by trades per day, TD Ameritrade's significant
long-term potential is a key part of our U.S. growth strategy."
On September 14, 2006, TDBFG entered into an arrangement that provided a
financial hedge for the potential future purchase of 27 million shares of TD
Ameritrade common stock. On February 5, 2009, TDBFG amended the hedging
arrangement to provide for settlement in TD Ameritrade common shares, instead
of cash settlement. TDBFG expects the 27 million shares to be delivered on the
settlement date on or about March 2, 2009, at an approximate cost to TDBFG of
USD$515 million, which was determined in accordance with the terms of the
hedging arrangement.
Since the hedging arrangement was struck in 2006, it has been
consolidated in TDBFG's financial statements as part of its reported
investment in TD Ameritrade, with the related income recognised. For this
reason, TDBFG expects the replacement of the hedging arrangement with the
approximate 5% increase in direct ownership to have no material impact on
TDBFG's earnings or capital levels.
About TD Bank Financial Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as
TD Bank Financial Group. TD Bank Financial Group is the sixth largest bank in
North America by branches and serves approximately 17 million customers in
four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial
centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including
TD Canada Trust and TD Insurance; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse
and an investment in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking
through TD Banknorth and TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank; and
Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks
among the world's leading on-line financial services firms, with more than 5.5
million on-line customers. TD Bank Financial Group had CDN$563 billion in
assets as of October 31, 2008. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the
symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.
For further information: Tim Thompson, Investor Relations, (416)
982-6346; or Nick Petter, Media Relations, (416) 308-1861