The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canadian businessman David Thomson has expressed interest in buying the Hudson's Bay Company's 1670 charter, planning to donate it to the Archives of Manitoba. The Globe's Susan Krashinsky Robertson writes that he would pay at least $15-million, surpassing the $12.5-million offer from the Weston family, who intend to donate it to the Canadian Museum of History. Mr. Thomson is also willing to submit bids higher than $15-million should the document go to auction. The Weston clan deal still requires court approval. First nations groups and cultural groups are concerned about the transparency of the process regarding the sale of the charter to Weston family holding company Wittington Investments without a public auction. All department stores nationwide have closed, and the company is no longer named Hudson's Bay after selling its intellectual property to Canadian Tire. The Westons' holding company approached Reflect Advisors, the advisory firm overseeing the sale process, with an unsolicited bid for the charter. Wittington also expressed the opinion that the document should not be sold at auction. It suggested that it might not be prepared to participate in such a process.