The 1670 Royal Charter signed by King Charles II establishing Hudson's Bay Co. Photo by Handout/Manitoba Museum via THE CANADIAN PRESS files

A mystery bid has been made for Hudson’s Bay Co. ‘s Royal Charter, a historical document that gave HBC exclusive trading rights over a portion of Canada in 1670, delaying plans for an auction that the company was originally going to seek approval for in court on Monday.

“Late last night, there was a development,” Ashley Taylor, a partner at Stikeman Elliot LLP, the firm representing HBC, said. “We received another unsolicited bid in respect of the charter … we’re asking for an adjournment for a few days so we can take a breath, think out the best next steps and then come back to the court to seek approval of our auction process.”

The company di

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