HALIFAX – Unitholders of Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund approved the proposed conversion from an income trust to a corporate structure.
Over 87% of the votes cast at the fund’s annual meeting on Wednesday were in favour of the conversion, the company said in a statement. The conversion, spurred by tax changes to income trusts that come in to effect in 2011, is expected to reduce administrative costs associated with a more complex trust structure, improve the comparability of financial reporting to its peers, and broaden the potential investor base.
Upon being implemented, the transaction will result in the conversion of Bell Aliant’s income trust structure into a dividend paying public corporation to be named ‘Bell Aliant Inc.’, under the trading symbol of TSX: BA. Upon completion of the conversion, fund unitholders will receive one common share of the resulting public corporation for each unit held.
