TORONTO — Two of Canada’s richest families appear poised for a battle over one of the country’s most famed documents.

A holding company owned by David Thomson, the billionaire chairman of Thomson Reuters, announced in new court filings Thursday that it wants to buy the royal charter that formed the Hudson's Bay retailer. Thomson is willing to spend at least $15 million on the historic document he wants to donate to the Archives of Manitoba.

Thomson's filing could become a hurdle for the department store, which is due to ask a court on Sept. 9 for permission to sell the charter for $12.5 million to Wittington Investments Ltd. The holding company belonging to the Weston family, which is best known for its grocery conglomerate Loblaw Cos. Ltd., wants to donate the charter to the Canadian Mu

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