Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. has gone public with a proposal to buy rival RF Capital Group Inc. after saying it was recently turned away "without reason."

In a release early Monday, Canaccord shared the letter that was sent by its president and chief executive officer, Dan Daviau, to RF Capital Chairman Donald Wright on March 9, when it proposed to offer $2.30 per share to acquire the wealth management firm.

In the letter, Daviau said Canaccord would be prepared to structure an eventual offer either all in cash, shares, or a mix of the two. It also reveals that Canaccord made previously approaches, but was unsuccessful in engaging Richardson Financial Group Ltd., which holds 44 per cent of RF's shares.

Canaccord said that its approach was "dismissed ... without reason" one day after it was submitted and that Richardson Financial declined an invitation to speak about the approach.

RF Capital acknowledged the proposal in a release late Monday morning, while also stating its board chose not to engage with Canaccord because it “unanimously concluded” that the offer wasn’t in its stakeholders’ best interest.

And in a release of its own, Richardson Financial left no room for negotiation in flatly declaring that its shares in RF Capital “are not for sale.”

If a deal ever comes to pass, however, it would double Canaccord's wealth management business in this country. As of the end of February, the company's Canadian assets under administration was $31 billion, according to a recent release. As of Feb. 28, RF Capital had $31.4 billion in assets under administration.

"We are resolute in our belief that our proposal would provide superior value for RF Capital shareholders and that Richardson Wealth Investment Advisors would benefit from the scale, stability, and growth potential that Canaccord Genuity provides," said Daviau in the release, which revealed that there have been "numerous attempts" to engage since September.