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TIMELINE: Key dates in the BCE buyout saga
TORONTO (Reuters) - The buyers of Canadian telecom giant BCE Inc (BCE.TO)(BCE.N) will not reprice the company's C$34.8 billion ($34.1 billion) buyout and have finalized the funding necessary to complete the purchase, the company said on Friday.
Here are some key moments in the BCE buyout saga:
April 9, 2007 - The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan makes a regulatory filing stating it is exploring its options as the company's biggest shareholder, switching from its earlier stance as a passive investor. It is rumored to be unhappy with BCE's stagnant share price.
April 10 - A media report says Teachers' has enlisted U.S. buyout house Providence Equity Partners to explore a BCE buyout. BCE's shares soar to a five-year high shortly afterward.
April 17 - BCE announces a strategic review of its options and says it is in talks with a group of Canadian pension funds regarding a buyout. The funds have also enlisted U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
May 23 - BCE announces another consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management LP has entered privatization talks with the company.
June 5 - BCE confirms a group led by Teachers has entered buyout talks with the company.
June 20 - BCE announces that rival Telus Corp (T.TO), Canada's No. 2 phone company, has entered into merger talks.
June 30 - BCE announces it has reached a "definitive" deal to be bought out by a group led by Teachers, Providence and Madison Dearborn Partners for C$42.75 per share in cash, or C$34.8 billion ($34.1 billion) in total -- the world's largest leveraged buyout.
September 21 - BCE shareholders overwhelmingly approve the Teachers offer.
December 14 - BCE says it is not renegotiating the buyout deal. Its statement comes in response to persistent rumors that the buyout will be delayed, repriced or scrapped given tough credit market conditions. BCE's stock trades well below the takeout price of C$42.75.
March 10, 2008 - BCE shares jump as investors react to a Quebec Superior Court ruling that dismisses claims asserted by some of the company's bondholders. The bondholders insisted the deal was unfair.
March 17 - BCE bondholders file appeal of the Quebec Superior Court decision. Their lawyer says the deal needs his clients' consent before it can proceed. BCE says it expects the lower court's decision to stand.
May 22 - BCE shares dive some 12 percent a day after the Quebec Court of Appeal sides with the debtholders. Bondholders' lawyer says the deal is effectively dead in its current form. BCE files a motion for a fast-track appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
June 17 - Supreme Court of Canada holds hearing into the bondholders' claims, but reserves its ruling on the matter.
June 20 - The Supreme Court releases its decision after markets close, backing BCE and allowing the deal to proceed.
July 4 - BCE announces its buyers will not reprice the deal and have finalized the credit funding for the purchase. The company's shares jump 13 percent.
($1=$1.02 Canadian)
(Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Peter Galloway)
