BURNABY, British Columbia, June 27 (UPI) -- The chance for a national telecommunications giant in Canada faded when Telus Corp. backed away from its bid to acquire rival Bell Canada Inc.
Telus, which recently championed a national telecom entity by merging both companies, said Tuesday "the inadequacies of (Bell Canada's) bid process did not make it possible for Telus to submit an offer," The Montreal Gazette reported Wednesday. Analysts said the company was not given enough time to place a bid.
Bell Canada put itself up for sale in March in response to shareholders concern about its lagging stock. Telus, in Burnaby, British Columbia, was the fourth interested buyer, after three groups of pension funds and buyout firms.
Telus' decision came the same day Onex Corp. and the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec withdrew from a consortium led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. also a member of the group.
Two bids have been submitted -- one from KKR and CPP, and the other by Cerberus Capital Management LP and the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan, the Gazette reported. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Bell Canada's largest shareholder, said it also would tender a bid.
