Toronto and London stock exchanges to merge; largest owner is sheik of Dubai

[Newsjock]

Source: The Globe and Mail

If the merger of the Toronto and London stock exchanges goes through, the largest shareholder of the new entity won’t be a Canadian or a Brit. It will be Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the billionaire ruler of Dubai who loves racehorses and giant yachts and once dreamed of turning his tiny emirate into a world financial centre.

Sheik Mohammed is already the largest shareholder of the London Stock Exchange, indirectly owning roughly 21 per cent through a private holding company. He also indirectly owns 15 per cent of the Nasdaq OMX, the second largest stock market in the United States, and controls Dubai’s two stock exchanges. If the merger of the TMX Group and LSE is approved, Sheik Mohammed will end up with an 11.3-per-cent interest in the combined exchange, the largest single holding.

Sheik Mohammed, 61, is perhaps best known for owning the world’s largest yacht, a 532-foot vessel worth $300-million (U.S.), as well as the world’s tallest building, a 160-floor skyscraper that opened in Dubai last year. But he is also a hands-on leader who has been trying for years to broaden the economic base of the emirate, one of seven that make up the United Arab Emirates federation.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/tmx-deal/dubais-ruler-would-be-largest-shareholder-in-merged-tmx-lse/article1901468/