1950 - 1970
1950: Canadian Overseas Telecommunications Corp. formed as Crown corporation.
1956 - 1970: Builds several submarine cable systems linking Canada with Britain, Iceland, Greenland, Australia and New Zealand.
1975: Renamed Teleglobe Canada Inc.
1976: Introduces international direct dialing for Canadians calling Britain, West Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.
The 1980s
Aug. 1985: Memotec Data Inc., a Montreal telephone switching equipment company, buys Real Time Datapro Inc. of Don Mills, Ont., a data processing company.
April, 1987: Memotec buys Teleglobe Canada Inc., from the federal government for $489 million.
The 1990s
Aug. 1991: Changes its name to Teleglobe Inc.
Jan. 1994: Communications products division spun off in IPO as Memotec Communications Inc.
Nov. 1994: BCE Inc. boosts stake in Teleglobe to 24.4 per cent.
June 1997: Lists on NYSE.
June 1998: Buys Dallas-based Excel Communications for $3.5-billion (U.S.). Creates a global long-distance communications company with 4,9800 employees, serving more than 275 carriers worldwide with nearly six million residential and 65,000 business customers.
July 1999: Raises $1-billion (U.S.) at height of the telecom gold rush by selling bonds to more than 100 institutional investors in Canada and the United States.
Aug. 1999: Warns profit will be lower than expected.
2000
Feb.: BCE offers $9.6-billion (Cdn.) for rest of Teleglobe
July: Renews existing $750-million (U.S.) line of credit and borrows additional $500-million from a syndicate of 19 Canadian, U.S. and European banks led by Bank of Montreal.
Nov.: BCE purchase closes, price decreases to $6.48-billion (Cdn.)
2002
April: BCE cuts Teleglobe loose, limiting further support to $125-million (U.S.) in short-term funding, and takes writedown of $7.5-billion to $8.5-billion (Cdn.).
May: Teleglobe files for bankruptcy protection from creditors. Under a reorganization plan, the company cuts adrift its Internet operations and lays off 850 to 950 people. Capital spending plans are also trimmed by $500-million (U.S.) for the coming year.