VANCOUVER and TORONTO — Telus Corporation announced today the sale of its financial solutions business to Dye & Durham, a Toronto-based provider of cloud-based software and technology solutions for the legal community, business professionals, governments and financial institutions.
The transaction, which closed today, is valued at $500 million, according to a Telus press release.
Net proceeds from the transaction “will be used to support strategic growth investments including connecting more homes and businesses to our leading PureFibre network, advancing our 5G network build and investments to support enhancing new areas of growth including our offerings to small and medium sized businesses, as well as in Telus Health and Telus Agriculture. Proceeds will also support debt retirement,” the press release reads.
Telus will provide operational transition services to Dye & Durham for up to 24 months to ensure a smooth transition of operations, the release says.
“As a long-standing, trusted partner to leading financial institutions across Canada, our team has provided the financial community with robust solutions that help them leverage technology to transform and advance their core business through digitization,” said Darren Entwistle, president and CEO of Telus, in the release.
“Dye & Durham shares our commitment to delivering customer service excellence, as demonstrated by its expansive and loyal client base. When combined with the company’s passion for human capital development and employee engagement, we are confident that this is the right organization to support our team members and the ongoing transformation of the financial services industry for many years to come,” Entwistle said.
The two companies have also entered into an arrangement whereby Telus will be the preferred communications partner and Telus International a preferred technology partner for Dye & Durham.
Regarding the potential impact of the transaction on Telus’ overall finances, the company’s press release says: “Telus’ annual consolidated financial targets for 2021 remain unchanged and consolidated financial results for 2021 are not expected to be materially impacted by the sale of the financial solutions business.
“The tax gain from the sale will be subject to an income tax payment, estimated to be approximately $65 million, to be paid in 2021. Our revised cash tax assumption for 2021 of $480 to $560 million, as updated in our third quarter 2021 earnings release dated November 5, 2021, is inclusive of this amount.”
