A transaction would extend the reach of Toronto-Dominion’s investment banking arm, TD Securities, deeper into equity and debt offerings as well as research. Toronto-Dominion, one of Canada’s biggest lenders, has been aggressively looking to grow via acquisitions, agreeing to buy First Horizon in February for about $13.4b.
“Given Cowen’s depressed share price juxtaposed against what we view as a strong intermediate-term fundamental outlook, we are not overly surprised that acquisition interest would exist,” Ryan said.