Is TD Bank thinking of buying back TD Waterhouse? An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal speculates that the bank must be contemplating such a move.

The WSJ says that numerous firms are considering the future of their dot-com spinoffs now that their stock prices have plunged. Firms, such as TD, that sold off chunks of their online businesses when valuations were huge are now faced with severe market disappointment in these stocks.

TD sold 11% of TD Waterhouse in June 1999 in a deal valuing Waterhouse at about US$9 billion. But its stock is now trading at less than half of its offer price. The WSJ reports that some analysts say the uncertainty about TD Waterhouse is hurting TD’s own stock.

Now the humbled parents are looking at buying back the dirt-cheap shares of their dot-com progeny. Credit Suisse First Boston Inc., Walt Disney Co. and General Electric Co. have all recently decided on buybacks. Could TD be next? “They certainly must have considered [a buyback],” says Quentin Broad, a banking analyst at CIBC World Markets. “It’s simple math.”

Dan Marinangeli, chief financial officer of TD says the bank hasn’t decided to reacquire the entire minority stake, although it has done one small share buyback.

The WSJ says analysts suggest that TD still hopes that Waterhouse can make something of itself, and public shares could provide a useful currency for acquisitions. Broad says: “Even at these depressed levels, they still trade at a much higher multiple than TD Bank itself.”