BCE nears final takeover hurdle

A hearing has been scheduled for 10 October to clear a final hurdle in the CAD51.7 billion (USD48.5 billion) takeover bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) by a consortium led by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Canada’s largest communications group said yesterday that the Superior Court of Quebec in Montreal will hear the motion less than three weeks after the proposal goes before a vote of its shareholders. BCE shareholders will vote on the proposal in Montreal on 21 September. If successful, the cash-and-debt bid, also involving Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners, will be the largest takeover in Canadian history. BCE, the parent of Bell Canada and Bell Aliant, expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2008, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.