In a reversal as sudden as the original offer, Telus has dropped out of the race for BCE. citing inadequacies in the bid process.
There were regulatory and competition concerns. The Canadian public was at best ambivalent about the prospect of Telus swallowing BCE - ranging to outright hostility in the Telus corporate backyard of Alberta and BC. The more dealings Canadians had with Telus, the less likely they were to like the idea of Telus swallowing the competition.
UPDATE: Genuity research suggests that the Telus bid may have always been a feint, intended only to push up the private bids and leave Bell saddled with more debt than it would have had otherwise. Don't know if it's true but it's certainly in character.
There were regulatory and competition concerns. The Canadian public was at best ambivalent about the prospect of Telus swallowing BCE - ranging to outright hostility in the Telus corporate backyard of Alberta and BC. The more dealings Canadians had with Telus, the less likely they were to like the idea of Telus swallowing the competition.
UPDATE: Genuity research suggests that the Telus bid may have always been a feint, intended only to push up the private bids and leave Bell saddled with more debt than it would have had otherwise. Don't know if it's true but it's certainly in character.
5 comments:
With the KKR-Onex falling through, Teachers will become the big winners in the BCE sweepstakes.
Not a good outcome if you are a BCE shareholder. This shows that pension funds need reform in Canada. Teachers is in danger of becoming a Canadian behemoth the equivalent to Temasak in Singapore. You call this ethical investing?
Depends what they do with it once they have it.
I have posted a link providing you info on the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.
A further look at the website shows that it has holdings throughout the world.
If this is your definition of re-nationalization and socialist economics, you are welcome to it.
Now tell me what you will do to boost the pension earnings of all wetbacks. People who work in non-unionized McJobs, dependent on Old Age Security and the CPP once they turn 65-67.
The link is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Teachers'_Pension_Plan
It isn't actually my definition of anything.
The only really strong opinion I held on this matter is that
A:)All things being equal I'd like BCE to remain in Canadian hands, and
B:) No matter what, Telus would be the worst possible choice for customers and workers.
With Telus out of the bidding, for now, I'm fairly sanguine about the prospects for any of the other alternatives.
That said, show me a real nationalization plan, a real return to the public ownership that built this country's telecom infrastructure in the first place - then you'll see some enthusiasm.
But the very idea of the 'public good' has scorn spat at it by Tories and Liberals alike - so this result is vanishingly unlikely.
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