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Investors in BCE Inc. were licking their lips a few months ago at the thought of cashing in on the Canadian telecom giant's C$51.7 billion ($50.4 billion) buyout. Now they seem to be quaking in their boots.
The company's shares sank Thursday to C$36.53 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a whopping 14.9% discount to the C$42.75 takeout price. Investors are worrying that the biggest buyout ever will be broken up or have to be renegotiated, despite reassurances from the people doing the deal. A BCE spokesman on Thursday told Reuters it still expects to close the deal in the second quarter, while a spokeswoman for the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which is leading the buyout, declined to comment. Ed Clark, the president and CEO of Toronto-Dominion Bank, which is investing in and helping to finance the deal, told a conference in Toronto on Tuesday: "I was comfortable when we did it the first place, and I'm just as comfortable today." Providence Equity Partners LLC of Providence, R.I., Chicago's Madison Dearborn Partners LLC are also in the buying group for the deal, which will be subject to Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission hearings in February. - Peter Moreira See Reuters story Thursday See earlier story on TheDeal.com on the buyout See earlier story on TheDeal.com on Merrill's entreé See Bloomberg story on BCE's possible divestiture CategoriesCommentsPrivate capital video
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I have more of a question then the comment you were seeking. As a BCE shareholder, I was wondering with the decrease in share value and the uncertainty of the deal, will the Board have to come back to the shareholders to vote on accepting any new offer as the original deal was going to bring $42.75/share.
M.