Court approves Hudson’s Bay plan to auction its royal charter; $18M bid expected

By Tara Deschamps The royal charter that created Hudson’s Bay in 1670 is on its way to the auction block. Ontario Superior Court judge Peter Osborne on Friday approved a process that will see the document owned by the defunct retailer sold early next month in a competitive process that will kick off with an $18 million bid from holding companies belonging to two of Canada’s richest family. The charter, signed by King Charles II more than 350 years ago, not only created HBC but gave the company control over one-third of modern Canada’s land mass, trade and Indigenous relations for decades to come. The document is being sold to help Hudson’s Bay chip away at the $1.1 billion in debt it had when it filed for creditor protection and…

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