(February 14 – 17:15 ET) – Canadian First Financial Group Inc. has entered into a binding letter of agreement to acquire the remaining 51% of the outstanding shares in Ross Dixon Mortgage Services Ltd. that it does not already own.

Ross Dixon Mortgage acts as a mortgage broker on behalf of banks, trust companies, life insurance companies and other financial institutions. CFFG said the purchase will be funded by issuing 20,000 shares of CFFG. The final purchase price will be established by the market value of the shares on closing.

The transaction is scheduled to close on March 2, subject to normal regulatory approval. Don Hyslop, CFFG’s president and COO said, “This transaction will complete CFFG’s initiative to provide clients of our financial planning and securities subsidiaries access to a greater range of residential and commercial products and services.”

CFFG acquired Golden Financial Services of Hamilton, Ont. in June 2000. The company said taht all of its mortgage services will now be merged with Canadian First Mortgage Services Inc. Larry Nason, the former president of Golden Financial Services, will continue to serve as president of Canadian First Mortgage Services.

CFFG is a holding company. Its principal subsidiaries are Ross Dixon Financial Services Limited, Hewmac Financial Group Limited, EFI Financial Services Limited, Burgeonvest Securities Limited and CFMS.
-IE Staff