The private equity led buyout of BCE, owner of Bell Canada was dealt another blow as an appeals court in Quebec ruled the deal is unfair to BCE bondholders and should be blocked. In a case of exquisite timing, the court ruled on a lawsuit filed months ago by the bondholders just as BCE's prospective buyers--Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Madison Dearborn, Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity and Providence Equity--were trying to meet with banks to overcome the onerous credit terms presented to them. Those financial requirements were already casting some doubt on the deal, and this ruling, despite the buyers' intent to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, present an additional threat to the acquisition, which originally was valued at almost $52 billion.
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- see this story at The Wall Street Journal