TORONTO – Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS Allstream), the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Blackstone Capital Partners announced Thursday they had dissolved the consortium they established in March to bid jointly as a new entrant in the upcoming Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum auction.
But as the sole beneficial owner of the numbered company previously registered by the consortium, MTS Allstream still qualifies to bid as a new entrant in the auction.
“MTS, the CPPIB and Blackstone continue to believe the business case for a new entrant in Canada’s national wireless market is sound, but at the end of the day we could not reach agreement on a handful of key issues,” said MTS Allstream CEO Pierre Blouin in a statement.
As required by the auction rules, the number of eligibility points and the size of the deposit with Industry Canada remain unchanged. MTS said it would not provide further comment on its bidding strategy.
“…We remain committed to taking a disciplined approach and maintaining both our current dividend policy and a strong balance sheet. We will see what the landscape looks like after the spectrum auction and review our plans accordingly,” said Blouin. “MTS is well-positioned to continue creating shareholder value, with or without a new wireless initiative.”
