Bell Canada Holds “Non-Exclusive” Merger Talks with Telus Corp.

Press Release - June 22, 2007

Canadian telecom giant, Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., revealed this week that it is discussing a possible merger with its western counterpart and rival in the wireless industry, Telus Corp.

Bell Canada is currently the target of three private equity groups, each of which is hoping to buy out existing shareholders and acquire the company. Executives announced on Wednesday night that the telecom had also begun discussions with Telus “on a non-exclusive basis,” but added that it was far from certain that a deal would be reached with anyone.

Even though Bell and Telus do not share local telephone territory, analysts are expecting a merger attempt between the two companies to meet with some fairly serious regulatory obstacles. As the two largest telecom providers in Canada, and two of the three leading wireless carriers, Telus and Bell will have a complicated road ahead of them, even in the event that they do decide to merge.