The bidding may not be over for the parent of Bell Canada, which over the weekend agreed to a buyout offer of $35.1 billion from a consortium led by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board in the biggest Canadian takeover ever, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report said the group led by the pension plan beat out several other bidders including New York-based Cerberus Capital Management with billionaire Hong Kong-based Canadian citizen Richard Li's Pacific Century Group, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board with backing from American buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Telus, Canada's second largest telecom, pulled out of the bidding for Bell Canada parent BCE, Canada's biggest telecom company.
But Telus CEO Darren Entwistle was quoted by local media as saying that his Vancouver-based company hasn't ruled out taking a run at Bell Canada.
Bell Canada CEO Michael Sabia acknowledged the possibility of a hostile bid when he told reporters that the company's board 'has a fiduciary obligation to continue to be open to superior proposals,' the Associated Press report further said.
The newspaper also quoted a source close to Cerberus as saying they have not given up on acquiring Bell, the report added.
The deal will require approval from shareholders.