Toronto Stock Exchange operator TMX Group Inc., which recently backed a C$3.8bn (US$3.75bn) plan to be taken over by a group of Canada's largest financial institutions, posted a 21% improvement in third-quarter earnings, beating analyst expectations.

TMX said results in its latest quarter were fuelled by higher revenue from derivative markets trading and clearing, issuer services, and information services, but were partly affected by higher compensation and benefits expenses and C$2.4m of pretax merger-related costs.