MONTREAL – While a number of individual Bell Canada shareholders voiced their concerns Wednesday about killer capital gains taxes they would have to pay should the company be taken private, senior executives remained non-committal about what might happen to the company.
BCE board chairman Richard Currie led the meeting off by making sure that discussion of the proposed buyers of the company was not on and that the company’s’ board has taken no decision. The strategic overview committee is looking at several options, "including but not limited to privatization," he said, acknowledging what the press releases already have said: "We now have a number of potential bidding groups that have emerged."
News out of the meeting was minimal as executives answered the usual slew of queries from disgruntled employees, former employees, union executives and grumpy shareholders with customer service complaints.
The closest thing to news that came from the three hour meeting we caught on the web was when CEO Michael Sabia talked about the win-back promotions the company is now allowed to offer and when he mentioned IPTV – an issue he has been reluctant to discuss in recent months.
With the win-back restrictions gone, Sabia said: "In just six weeks, we’ve doubled the number of customers we’re winning back."
And of IPTV? Still no launch date, but the CEO said it will "revolutionize how people are going to think about television, running on an Xbox 360 or a set top box."
The service will allow customers to manage photos and MP3 files through their TVs, to access a vast library of videos and songs and do things like control their PVR from the web or a cell phone (a service Videotron offers already).
Sabia also termed the electronic program guide of the new service "visually stunning" which will drive "a seamless web of data information and entertainment."
– Greg O’Brien
