(November 18 – 16:00 ET) – Mackenzie Financial Corp. announced on Saturday that it has received, and will be reviewing and responding to a hostile takeover bid from rival C.I. Fund Management Inc.

“We have begun contact with other interested parties that may provide Mackenzie shareholders with superior value for their shares,” said Alan Dilworth, chair of Mackenzie’s special board committee, which is reviewing the offer and will consider all available alternatives with the help of its advisors CIBC World Markets and Merrill Lynch Canada. “Our role is to ensure that all Mackenzie shareholders receive maximum value for their shares.”

C.I. is offering 1.7 of its shares for all of the issued and outstanding Mackenzie common shares in a $3.9 billion bid, including an option for up to $600 million in cash. Jim Hunter, president and CEO of Mackenzie, has called the offer “opportunistic… and does not reflect the interest of shareholders and amounts to using Mackenzie’s own cash to fund their proposed offer.”

C.I. lengthened its proposed bid to 35 days from the typical 21, yet Mackenzie has adopted a poison pill that would give it 60 days to consider bids. Mackenzie says it will also be mailing a letter in the next few days advising shareholders to delay making any decision on the C.I. offer until they have heard further from the corporation in the directors’ circular.

“We will be providing Mackenzie shareholders with our assessment of the C.I. offer in a directors’ circular to be mailed to shareholders on or before November 27. In the interim, we strongly encourage Mackenzie shareholders not to tender any shares to C.I.’s offer until the special committee of our board has had an opportunity to evaluate it,” added Dilworth.
-IE Staff