OK, so now Canadian teachers are in the buyout game? Actually, the answer is yes. Well, it's through the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, which has a ton of capital to put to work. And it looks like the fund may make a bid for Bell Canada (NYSE: BCE). The deal might also include private equity firm Providence Equity Partners (the firm has purchased telecom companies in Denmark and Ireland).
In fact, the Ontario Teachers fund already holds a 5% stake in BCE.
OK, does this still seem far-fetched? Not necessarily. Basically, the Ontario Teachers is fairly aggressive and has done buyouts in the past.
BCE is also a good candidate for a transaction. Over the past year, the company has restructured operations – yet the stock price has not moved much (at least not until the buyout rumors emerged).
And, according to a story on CNBC, the buyout price is rumored to be $38 to $40. Currently, the stock price is up 7% to $30.27.
Although, as is common with these things, a deal can easily fall apart.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.
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