As shareholders approved a takeover of BCE Inc. Friday, the company's chief executive officer Michael Sabia said he has decided to move on.
He didn't give any details about when he would step down.
"Last spring, during the strategic review, I indicated to the chair of the board that should we reach an agreement which delivered real, compelling value to shareholders, it might be the right time for me to move on," Mr. Sabia told investors. "So as this transaction clears the necessary hurdles in the first quarter, I have decided to follow up on that discussion - a decision made with a real sense of accomplishment about what we've achieved together..."
BCE Inc. shareholders voted 97 per cent in favour of an offer by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to buy Canada's largest telephone company and take it private.
The deal sees BCE investors pocket $42.75 for each share they hold.
The meeting was a long and involved affair, as shareholders lined up to drill, not praise Mr. Sabia and chairman Richard Currie on the deal for about 90 minutes.
One investor asked Mr. Sabia if he was missing an opportunity like back in 2002, when BCE sold its Yellow Pages unit to private-equity investors who turned around and did an initial public offering.
Mr. Sabia responded that the company was in a serious crisis at that time and needed the money, and got a high price for the asset.
He also told worried retirees that they would still get their benefits and pensions.
The approval brings BCE a step closer to privatization, a change that will transform both the 127-year-old company along with the larger telecom market itself. It is unclear how BCE's strategy will change under the new owners, and how that in turn will impact rivals such as Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc.
BCE's privatization will also be felt outside the telecom industry. Its steady business and dividend made it one of Canada's most popular investments, and now investors will be looking for new places to put their money when BCE disappears from the stock market.
Over the past year, BCE has experienced a dramatic twist of fate. Last September, it was preparing to follow Telus and become an income trust. But those plans were scrapped a month later when Ottawa decided to start taxing trusts.
Within a few months, BCE was in play. A handful of different bidding groups vied for BCE, but Teachers' and its partners emerged as the winners with the highest bid at the end of June.
BCE expects the takeover will close in the first quarter of 2008.