The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that WSP Global attracted strong institutional investor support for its proposed $3.3-billion (U.S.) takeover of U.S. rival TRC Companies, quickly selling $732-million of stock to pay for the transaction. The Globe's Andrew Willis and Jameson Berkow write that on Monday, Montreal-based WSP announced a bid for TRC, one of the largest U.S. power and energy consultants, and disclosed it would pay part of the cost by selling 3.15 million WSP shares to investment banks for $232.80 a share. Overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning, the banks resold all of the WSP shares to institutions and individual investors. When trading began Tuesday, WSP's stock price jumped 1.6 per cent to close at $245.45. Large Canadian and U.S. institutional investors stepped up for the WSP stock. The TRC acquisition is WSP's third major takeover in the past two years. Institutions were willing to purchase WSP stock because the company has established a record for successfully integrating large acquisitions. WSP sold the shares to the investment banks at 3.7 per cent below the stock's closing price of $241.65 on Monday, prior to announcement of the TRC takeover, a common discount in bought deals.