BCE stock is up Monday on news that the Clear Channel Communications buyout may actually get done, at a lower price.
However, there is still skepticism whether the $35-billion BCE buyout will close as planned. These doubts are reflected in the wide gap between where the Canadian phone companies stock is currently trading - it's at $37.99, up 1.8 per cent Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange - and the $42.75 that BCE shareholders are supposed to receive under terms of the leveraged buyout announced last June.
U.S. media such as the New York Times Deal Book blog and CNBC are reporting that private equity funds and bankers are close to settling a bitter dispute over funding the Clear Channel takeover, and preparing to close the deal at $36 (U.S.) a share, down from $39.20 when the buyout was first announced a year ago. Clear Channel shares are surging on this news.
Three of the banks that initially balked at funding the Clear Channel buyout are also lending to the consortium offering to buy BCE, which is led by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. The BCE buyout is expected to close in June. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland are lending on both the BCE and Clear Channel purchases.
