The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and its partners will stay committed to the terms of the deal to buy BCE.
In a statement released by Teachers’, the group—which includes Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners—says “they remain committed to the terms of the definitive agreement reached on June 30, under which the investment partners would acquire BCE.”
They agreed to purchase the telecom firm for $42.75 a share, but the stock dropped as low as $37.55 last week. The decline is due to concerns private equity deals might be repriced or fall apart because of a credit squeeze following woes in the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
BCE shareholders will vote on the proposed deal on September 21. If the takeover is approved by shareholders and regulators, the company will be privatized some time in the first quarter of 2008.
For more about the deal, check out our special section, The Rise of Private Equity, click here.
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