HALIFAX – Thanks to the federal government’s decision on income trusts, Bell Aliant Income Fund has revised its offer to take Bell Nordiq Income Fund private.
Bell Aliant currently holds a 63.34% voting interest in Bell Nordiq and had bid for the rest of it on October 11th. On November 3, 2006 Bell Aliant announced it was reconsidering the value and other terms of the proposal in light of the Feds’ October 31, 2006 announcement.
Under Bell Aliant’s new proposal, Bell Nordiq unitholders would receive $4 in cash and 0.4113 of a Bell Aliant unit for each Bell Nordiq unit. This represents $15.36 per unit based on the closing price of $27.63 for Bell Aliant units on November 17, 2006.
The original bid was valued at $19 a unit.
"This transaction is supported by a strong strategic rationale that will allow us to serve our customers better and gain from the experience of Bell Nordiq employees operating within the provinces of Quebec and Ontario," said Stephen Wetmore, president and CEO of Bell Aliant, in a release. "While the new tax rules announced by the Federal Government have created some uncertainty in financial markets, this has no impact on the very strong business fundamentals, including the stable cash flow profile, of either Bell Nordiq or Bell Aliant. We have considered this and believe this new proposal reflects the full value of Bell Nordiq under the new tax rules for income trusts."
