The National Stock Exchange of Australia (ASX:NSX) is assessing various commercial opportunities should Canada’s CNSX Markets receive the green light to acquire the 88-year-old bourse.
These growth and regulatory opportunities will “probably be pursued in a year or so” upon satisfying conditions of a scheme implementation deed and receiving necessary shareholder and court approvals for the deal to go ahead.
The SID and scheme are not subject to financing or due diligence conditions. The first court date is on 1 August 2025 and implementation of the scheme is expected on 15 September.
As previously reported, CNSX Markets, which is the operator of the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), has been an investor in the NSX since 7 May 2025 and holds a 4.85% stake in the company.
Under the scheme, the suitor will acquire all shares in the Australian exchange it does not already own by paying $0.035 cash per share, which represents a 59% premium to the NSX closing price on 16 May 2025, the last day of trading prior to announcement of the offer. NSX currently has a market capitalisation of $16.61 million.
The NSX unanimously recommends shareholders to accept the offer in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert’s conclusion it is in the best interests of shareholders. Each NSX director intends to vote all of the shares they own or control in favour of the scheme.
Positive relationships, commercial overlaps
“The reason (we’re doing) the deal is (CSE Chief Executive) Richard (Carleton) saw a good opportunity. We (NSX) needed some balance sheet support and we saw a lot of parallels with our business, licensing, regulatory environment, et cetera, et cetera,” NSX Chief Executive Max Cunningham exclusively tells this news service.
“So, the reality is I think all we can do is work collaboratively and closely with the CSE, to be frank, we will continue to do that with other exchanges as well where there are opportunities.
“Ownership is one thing, but we will have different commercial opportunities. We seek to do nothing other than to have positive relationships with other exchanges where there may be commercial overlaps.”
Cunningham bears in mind there will be regulatory distinctions. Should the deal proceed, there’s a pathway towards “some fast-tracking type of arrangements”, which will require regulatory support, he says, without elaborating.
“We seek to do nothing other than to have positive relationships with other exchanges where there may be commercial overlaps”
These opportunities will “probably be pursued in a year or so”, including working on a regulatory framework that supports CSE and TSX-V “because it’s got nothing to do with our ownership and everything to do with Canada and Australia”.
“So that would be how we would look at it. But the answer is we see a big, big opportunity there. But I think CSE probably sees the same thing in our marketplace, to be honest,” Cunningham continues.
A focus for the combined entities will be on providing better engagement tools for NSX issuers in the Australian market.
Global trading and engagement
Canadian mining executives often detail to this news service their frustrations in the difficulties in attracting Australian investment – from both institutional and retail investors.
Earlier this year, the CSE invited Cunningham to PDAC in Toronto where companies talked about such issues. The NSX returned from the trip with two CSE-listed companies that now have live applications with the National Stock Exchange for dual listings.
However, Cunningham notes the issue of Canadian companies accessing capital from Australian investors is “coincident and not linked to the deal”.
The Canadian stock market has long given investors access to a variety of companies from commodities and financials to technology and industrials. For example, more than half of the 50 top performing companies on the TSX Venture Exchange operate in the resources sector, highlighting the attractiveness of Canada’s exchanges for mining investment.
The 2025 TSX Venture 50 spotlights how mining and innovation companies are advancing Canada’s long-term economic agenda and global competitiveness. A defining theme in the 2024 rankings is the dominance of resources companies, which account for 31 out of the top 50 performers.
Canadian explorer Power Metallic Mines (TSX-V:PNPN), formerly called Power Nickel before rebranding earlier this year, is the highest ranking mining company and sits fourth on the list with a share price appreciation of 365% in 2024.
In a recent development, Australian investors can now trade all stocks listed on the CSE via the Interactive Brokers (IBKR) platform, with the full suite of CSE-listed securities eligible for trading on IBKR’s global system, which is used by 3.6 million clients and responsible for nearly 3.5 million daily trades.
Interactive Brokers offers access to over 160 markets globally, with competitive pricing, and advanced trading technology. The addition of CSE-listed securities in April expands its range of investment products, enabling clients to further diversify their portfolios, and supporting investor access to Canadian markets.
Australian investors interested in resources companies, particularly the juniors, can now also trade Canada’s small cap miners.
CSE Chief Executive Richard Carleton says it’s a major development with the Canadian Securities Exchange’s issuers and investors standing to benefit from the reach of the Interactive Brokers platform.
The CSE’s securities are now more easily accessible to a global investor base that has shown itself to be keenly interested in the Canadian markets. Access to the IBKR platform will increase liquidity, enhance price discovery, and support capital formation activities by CSE issuer companies, Carleton adds.
A game-change, no name-change
It’s a timely development with some observers such as Lion Selection Group (ASX:LSX) Managing Director Hedley Widdup believing the tie-up between CSE and NSX could drive listing activity, which has been sluggish in recent times.
“This looks a lot like a foreign group that has a clear sense of what they would like to achieve and experience doing it – buying a running start in a new market,” Widdup tells this news service.
“Between listing fees and whatever is made per trading transaction, the more companies listed the better from an exchange’s perspective. If CSE can invigorate a market that has lower thresholds for companies to list in order to explore or do business in resources then it’s a great candidate to receive listings and I think that is very much their plan.”
Notably, the CSE has a large number of mining companies listed (365 of 760), which means the suitor likely has a solid understanding of the NSX’s audience.
“But I don’t know what they might think their best targets are for listings. Cross listings – perhaps – I would question how listing further from your primary listing, HQ and probably project provides enhanced access to capital for a micro-cap company,” Widdup continues.
“Cross listings tend to work better for larger companies where they have the resources to service two markets, the drain of this often overcomes the broader access to capital for explorers. I would expect the greatest success would be more likely to come from Australian companies.”
The Canadian Securities Exchange’s CEO exclusively told Mining.com.au this morning that CNSX Markets is unlikely to change the name of the National Stock Exchange of Australia to ensure consistency in branding and messaging to the market.
Adding to that, NSX’s Cunningham was given an opportunity to change the exchange’s name when his tenure started. During a trip to Western Australia it became apparent many were not keen on rebranding to Perth Stock Exchange – an idea floated at the time – as it seems too parochial.
“But the reason I tell you that story is that’s where a lot of our heart is. We see the biggest number of companies that are in the mining space, the biggest number of small caps, the biggest number of listed companies in Australia are all in Western Australia and in West Perth,” he continues.
“So we see that. I’m in Perth, I made a commitment to be there four times a year and I’m getting over there as often as possible.”
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: CSE, Unsplash & iStock
