BCE says its takeover is complete

MONTREAL, July 5 (UPI) -- Telecom giant BCE Inc. says its $51.7-billion takeover by a group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is completed.

BCE, based in Montreal, said it has a final agreement with the takeover group that will take the iconic company private, The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday.

The deal maintains the original takeover price of $42.75 a share, the network reported. BCE is the operator of the Bell Canada phone system.

"The signing of this agreement to take the company private in the largest transaction of its kind in the world, at $42.75 per common share, is the final chapter in a strong stewardship that has created substantial value for shareholders," BCE Chairman Richard Currie said.

None of the parties involved in the deal have revealed the terms of the bank loans. Analyst Ross Healey, chairman of Strategic Analysis Corp., said he suspected some arrangement was made to ease the bankers' concerns.

"The devil's in the details and we don't know what the details are," he told CBC News.

The lenders include Citi, Deutsche Banc, Royal Bank of Scotland and TD Securities.

BCE Chief Executive Michael Sabia will leave the company, as announced last year, and George Cope, president and chief operating officer of Bell Canada since late 2005, will become CEO of BCE and Bell.

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