OTTAWA — The Competition Bureau announced late Friday that it won’t be challenging the deal to take Bell Canada Enterprises private.
The deal, approved today by shareholders, will see a bidding group composed of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC and Providence Equity Partners Inc. take control of the company.
The Bureau’s review focussed particularly on Teachers’ shareholding in Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS), a competitor to BCE. “The conclusion that the proposed transaction was unlikely to lead to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition was based, in part, on the fact that Teachers’ has no right to appoint directors to the Board of MTS,” said the Competition Bureau release.
As mandated by the Act, the Bureau has the authority to review mergers in Canada to determine whether they are likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition. The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that contributes to the “prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice,” says the release.
