by Stockwatch Business Reporter
Pure Trading was the third most active alternative trading system in Canada for the week ended Aug. 3, 2012. Together, the ATSs handled 33.8 per cent of Canadian volume, leaving 66.2 per cent to the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange. Alpha Exchange held onto its ATS lead, trading, on average, 101 million shares a day or 17.3 per cent of volume. Chi-X Canada followed with an average of 54.6 million shares a day or 9.3 per cent of volume. Pure handled 15.9 million shares a day or 2.7 per cent. In fourth place, dark pool Match Now handled 13.2 million shares a day or 2.2 per cent. Omega came fifth, trading 6.5 million shares or 1.1 per cent, and TMX Select followed with 6.2 million shares or 1 per cent.
Of securities listed only on the TSX, the exchange captured 59 per cent of volume. Alpha had 19.9 per cent, Chi-X had 11.2 per cent and Pure had 3.6 per cent.
Ninety-one per cent of TMX shares had been deposited when the Maple Group offer expired on July 31. Maple has extended the offer 10 more days, to Aug. 10, giving the remaining holders a chance to receive some cash for their shares. Maple has also completed its acquisitions of the Canadian Depository Services Inc., for which it paid $167.5-million, and Alpha, for which it paid $175-million. Last December, The Globe and Mail reported that in the fall Alpha's owners were asking for between $450-million and $600-million, but Maple was only prepared to offer between $100-million and $200-million.