Telecom
BCE Tumbles to 12-Year Low After $3.6 Billion Ziply Deal
- Canadian firm buys internet company with 1.3 million locations
- BCE suspends dividend increases, will raise equity via DRIP
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BCE Inc. will pause dividend growth next year as it makes an unexpected push into the US with the purchase of an internet provider in the Pacific Northwest, a move that sent the company’s shares tumbling to a 12-year low.
Canada’s largest telecommunications company will pay C$5 billion ($3.6 billion) for Northwest Fiber LLC, which does business as Ziply Fiber and has 1.3 million locations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, with plans to expand to more than 3 million in the next four years, according to a statement Monday.