[Animats]

Yes. See [1] for an overview of how this works.

When the SEC filing is made, we'll get to see how the deal is structured. The $20 billion from TD Securities becomes a debt obligation of the combined company. There's a tax break in equity to debt conversion, and a second tax break for carried interest. [2] There may be a preferred stock deal or debt refinancing so that TD gets their $20 billion back. Usually, the private equity firm exits within a few years.

[1] https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.23.1.121

[2] https://www.pgpf.org/article/what-is-the-carried-interest-lo...

[airstrike]

No, it's not a leveraged buyout

[Animats]

Sure it is. The acquirer is borrowing money for the buyout, and the debt will become a debt of the acquired/merged company. That, by definition, is a leveraged buyout.

[airstrike]

That is not the definition of a leveraged buyout.

This is a public-to-public merger. Some mergers and acquisitions are financed with debt. That does not make them leveraged buyouts.

LBOs are private equity deals in which there's no issuance of public stock. The equity portion is, well, private equity.

Source: I've advised over 100+ clients on billions worth of M&A and LBO deals in my time as an investment banker in New York.