The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday approved the buyout of BCE Inc., meaning the only hurdle left in the world's largest buyout ever is getting bankers to finance the deal. But that could be quite a high hurdle, given how debt markets have tanked since the C$52.3 billion ($51.5 billion) deal was announced last June.
Continue reading below
Canada's highest court dismissed a May ruling by the Quebec Court of
Appeals, which said the buyout failed to consider the damage done to
debentures issued by BCE's largest unit, Bell Canada. The Supreme Court
ruling came down just three days after the two sides presented their
oral arguments.
The ruling is a victory for the buyout group, comprising the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan PE unit, Teachers' Private Capital, Providence Equity Partners Inc., Madison Dearborn Partners LLC and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity.
Now the attention will shift to the buyout teams' lenders, led by Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG,
which are pressuring the parties for better financing terms. The banks
would lose money if they issued debt at the original terms, given how
sharply credit markets have fallen since the original deal was
announced. --
Peter MoreiraSee full story on
TheDeal.comSee Dealwatch: BCE
