TMX Group Inc. (TSX:X) shareholders have until the end of the day to sell their shares to Maple Group Acquisition Corp., which is in the final stretch of a marathon $3.8-billion takeover offer.

The operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange and other Canadian exchanges said last week it’s already working on integration plans for the anticipated takeover of Alpha and the Canadian Depository for Securities, which is to take place immediately after Maple acquires the TMX.

The consortium of Canadian banks, pension funds and investment firms cleared its last major regulatory hurdles when securities regulators in B.C. and Alberta signed off on the takeover earlier this month.

Maple required regulatory approvals to merge the owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange with the alternative Alpha Trading System, and clearing and depository firm CDS Inc., which are owned by the major players in the Canadian securities industry, several of which are part of the consortium.

Regulators in Ontario, Quebec, B.C. and Alberta, as well as the federal Competition Bureau, have approved the deal, with certain conditions.

The consortium of a dozen Canadian banks, pension funds and investment firms has also assured shareholders that current TMX chief executive Tom Kloet will be named CEO of Maple if enough shareholders tender their shares to its takeover offer.

The deal was first proposed more than a year ago after the operator of the London Stock Exchange proposed a merger with the owner of various the Canadian stock exchanges.

When the LSE transaction was defeated by shareholders, the TMX threw its support behind the Maple bid last October.

In its most recent quarter, TMX posted net income of $1.8 million in the second quarter, or two cents per share, compared to net income of $54.7 million, or 73 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue in the quarter totalled $167.5 million, down slightly from $169.3 million in the year-before quarter.

The investors in Maple are the Alberta Investment Management Corp., Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, CIBC World Markets Inc. (TSX:CM), Desjardins Financial Group, Dundee Capital Markets Inc. (TSX:DC.A), Fonds de solidarite des travailleurs du Quebec, National Bank Financial & Co. Inc. (TSX:NA), Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Scotia Capital Inc. (TSX:BNS), TD Securities Inc. (TSX:TD) and Manulife Financial (TSX:MFC).