Canada high court suggests June BCE appeal date

OTTAWA, May 26 (Reuters) - In a victory for BCE Inc. (BCE.TO), the Canadian Supreme Court agreed on Monday to expedite the process of deciding whether to hear the telecommunications firm's appeal of a lower court decision that imperils its C$34.8 billion ($35.2 billion) buyout.

The court set May 28 as a deadline for BCE to file its application for permission to appeal, and May 30 for a response from the debtholders, who won a Quebec court decision last week that the leveraged buyout was unfair to them.

The Supreme Court also said that if it did decide to hear the appeal, it suggested it be heard on the morning of June 17. BCE has asked the court to decide on the whole matter by June 30. (Reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Peter Galloway)