A person talks on the phone while passing the Telus store in Toronto on June 3, 2012.Michelle Siu/The Globe and Mail
The market is pricing in higher odds that Telus Corp. once again fails in its quest to collapse its shares on a one-for-one basis.
In the wake of a court decision Friday that allows Telus shareholder Mason Capital to hold its own meeting of Telus investors to try to stymie the telecom's plan, the key indicator of Mason's chances of success jumped.
The spread between Telus non-voting and voting shares should go to nil if Telus wins. Mason's goal is to force a share conversion ratio that values the voting shares more than non-voting shares, so when Mason is viewed as gaining points in the fight, the spread should widen. On Friday, after the ruling, the spread went the other way. It moved to the widest price differential in a month.
The gap between the two classes of shares was 70 cents as of Thursday's close of business. By Friday afternoon, the price differential jumped to $1.15 as voting stock rose and non-voting shares fell.