U.S.-traded shares of BCE Inc. jumped on Monday, the first trading day after Canada's largest telecommunications company said it has agreed to the terms of a $35 billion sale to a group of investors.
The sale, led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, is the biggest leveraged buyout in history. BCE said on Friday it expects the deal to close by Dec. 11. The investors, which also include, Providence Equity Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, are paying 42.75 Canadian dollars ($41.95) per share in cash.
BCE agreed to a buyout more than a year ago _ just before the credit crisis hit North America. Friday's announcement ended worries that the banks funding the deal would try to back out, or that the price would have to be lowered.
Canaccord Adams analyst David Lambert kept a "Buy" rating on BCE. He said in a client note the company's announcement of the financing agreement, signed credit agreements and the approval of the deal by all required regulators "provide us with confidence" that it will almost certainly close by Dec. 11.
Montreal-based BCE's shares rose $3.90, or 11 percent, to close at $38.65. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $32.20 and $44.59.
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