The 1670 royal charter signed by King Charles II establishing Hudson's Bay on display in a photo supplied by the Manitoba Museum. The Thomson and Weston families are set to prevail in their bid to buy the charter.

Two of Canada’s most prominent families are set to prevail in their $18-million bid to buy the 1670 Hudson’s Bay charter, and will donate it to four cultural institutions to keep it in Canada and accessible to the public.

The joint bid by the Thomson and Weston families was selected after no other qualified bidders stepped forward with a higher offer by last Friday’s deadline, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The Globe is not naming the source because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

In order to qualify, bidders had to meet a number of condit

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