From the Sudbury Star.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Thursday it will launch a new stock market in Canada for anonymous or so-called "dark pool" trades, rivalling the TMX Group Inc. and potentially beating Canada's biggest banks to the punch.

Goldman's SIGMA X computer system anonymously matches buyers with big institutional sellers to ensure sellers get the best possible price on Toronto Stock Exchange listed securities, Goldman said. Dark pools also hide prices and volumes on big trades. Buyers can offer to pay a pre-set premium, usually about 10% more than the best wider market price for the lot.

Dark pools give investment dealers and fund managers the chance to sell their stock off in one mega trade rather than having to sell off bits and pieces to a number of buyers. Dark pools are common practice today, but critics say they undermine transparency and discourage average investors from participating in markets.

"The growth potential of the Canadian equity market is significant," said Todd Lopez, managing director and co-head of Americas sales, Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading.

"We believe unique, alternative pools of liquidity will continue to play an important role in the Canadian market's development."

Alpha ATS, owned by a handful of Canada's biggest bank, also plans to launch a dark pool platform this year and is awaiting regulatory approval.

Seems a bit underhanded but what do i know.