Telus profit falls on charges, abandons BCE quest

(Reuters) - Net earnings declined to C$253.1 million , or 75 Canadian cents a diluted share. That is down from a profit of C$356.6 million, or C$1.02 a share, in the same period last year. Telus, which confirmed its 2007 financial forecasts, also said it will not make a takeover bid for rival BCE , saying that it can generate growth on its own.






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UPDATE 2-TD Bank to chip in C$3.8 bln for BCE takeover

(Reuters) - VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 17 -
Toronto-Dominion Bank will put up C$3.8 billion , including C$500 million of equity, to finance the
buyout of BCE Inc. , Canada's biggest telecoms company,
the bank said on Tuesday.




TD said it has underwritten C$3.3 billion of a
C$34.3-billion credit facility and also provided a C$500
million equity bridge facility to the buyout consortium, which
is led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.


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US STOCKS-Indexes rise on telecoms takeovers

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 2 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday,
boosted by takeover news in the telecommunications sector.




Canada's largest telephone company, BCE Inc
, agreed to a US$32.8 billion buyout, excluding debt,
from a group that includes the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan on
Saturday, in the biggest buyout in Canadian corporate history.
For details, see [ID:nN02315411].


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US STOCKS-Futures up on telecoms takeovers, data eyed

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 2 - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Monday, boosted by takeover news in the telecommunications
sector and before a report on manufacturing activity that could
give clues on the outlook for profits.




Canada's largest telephone company, BCE Inc
, agreed to a US$32.8 billion buyout, excluding debt,
from a group that includes the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan on
Saturday, in the biggest buyout in Canadian corporate history.
For details, see [ID:nN02315411].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

BCE takeover battle may not be over yet: report

(Reuters) - One of the losing BCE suitors, U.S. buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, has not given up its pursuit of BCE, the newspaper reported, citing a source close to Cerberus.




"It's not over until we say it's over," it quoted the source as saying.


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Catalyst says offer for BCE worth up to C$52 a share

(Reuters) - Catalyst, which did not have any ownership in BCE as of Friday, has proposed an offer to exchange each BCE share for a new stapled security made up of debt and equity. It said it presented its offer to a special committee of BCE's board on Monday morning.



) Keywords: BCE CATALYST/


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UPDATE 1-Catalyst says BCE offer worth up to C$52 a share

(Reuters) - Catalyst, which did not have any ownership in BCE as of
Friday, has proposed an offer to exchange each BCE share for a
new stapled security made up of debt and equity. It said it
presented its offer to a special committee of BCE's board on
Monday morning.




Catalyst's executive managing director, Brent Fullard, has
said he believes the deal is better than selling the telecom
company, parent of Bell Canada, to private equity firms or
merging it with rival Telus Corp. .


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UPDATE 1-Canada's BCE says might combine with rival Telus

(Reuters) - Any merger between BCE, which owns Bell Canada, and Telus,
the country's No. 2 telephone company, would send shockwaves
through Canada's telecom industry and need Canadian government
approval because such a combination would control much of the
domestic telephone market. The two companies have a combined
market capitalization of some C$53.5 billion




In a brief statement issued on Wednesday evening, BCE said
it and Telus had entered into a mutual nondisclosure and
standstill agreement on a nonexclusive basis.


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UPDATE 1-Teachers', Providence in talks to take BCE private

(Reuters) - BCE said the pension fund's private investment arm and
Providence have signed non-disclosure and standstill agreements
with the company "on a non-exclusive basis".




Teachers' has been mulling an offer for BCE and earlier on
Tuesday announced that it had raised its stake in the firm, the
parent of phone company Bell Canada, to 6.3 percent from 5.3
percent it held as of March. It now owns 50.8 million shares.


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