Two affluent Canadian families have successfully completed the acquisition and donation process of the historical royal charter that established the Hudson’s Bay Co.
Following Ontario Superior Court Judge Peter Osborne’s approval, the defunct retailer was granted permission to sell the 355-year-old document to the holding companies owned by the Thomson and Weston families for $18 million.
The families have pledged to donate the charter to the Archives of Manitoba, the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., and the Royal Ontario Museum for permanent preservation.
This significant five-page vellum document, issued by King Charles II on May 2, 1670, enabled the formation of HBC, a fur-trading enterprise, granting the company control over a substantial portion of modern-day Canada during early colonization, long before Confederation.
After filing for creditor protection in March and closing all its stores, Hudson’s Bay commenced the process of selling its collection of 4,400 art pieces and artifacts to settle its outstanding debts, leading to the auctioning of the charter.
Osborne extended HBC’s creditor protection period until March 31 during Thursday’s court ruling.
The Thomsons, prominent in the media industry, and the Westons, renowned in the grocery and retail sectors, emerged as the only bidders in the charter auction, necessitating court approval for their joint acquisition.
The court-sanctioned sale of the charter concludes a lengthy legal process that has kept HBC’s legal team and financial advisors occupied for months.
Initially intended for auction, the charter was set to be acquired by Weston’s Wittington Investments Ltd. for $12.5 million in July before David Thomson’s DKRT Family Corp. intervened with a $15-million bid, expressing interest in the Archives of Manitoba owning the charter.
HBC eventually reverted to the auction route, allowing Thomson to place his bid until both families collaborated on an $18-million offer.
Despite Reflect Advisors, HBC’s financial consultants, reaching out to 150 potential bidders, no other party was willing to surpass the Thomson and Weston bid, making it the definitive winner.
During the court session, HBC lawyer Ashley Taylor stated, “Reflect did its utmost to try to generate a competitive auction but, when we finally got to that point, in light of the joint bid and the increased purchase price, no one else wanted to participate.”
Asad Moten, representing the attorney general of Canada, acknowledged the benefits of the Thomson and Weston bid, emphasizing the significance of keeping the charter within Canada for public accessibility.
Since the start of the creditor protection proceedings, the charter has been securely stored in a protective box, previously kept in a private office, pending examination by the Canadian Conservation Institute to assess its condition and determine necessary preservation steps.
