BCE Inc., formerly Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a
publicly traded
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...
Canadian
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
for
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...
, which includes
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
s providers and various
mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information ...
assets under its subsidiary
Bell Media Inc. Founded through a corporate reorganization in 1983 when Bell Canada,
Northern Telecom
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
, and other related companies all became subsidiaries of Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., it is one of Canada's largest corporations. The company is headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
borough of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada.
BCE Inc. is a component of the
S&P/TSX 60
The S&P/TSX 60 Index is a stock market index of 60 large companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Maintained by the Canadian S&P Index Committee, a unit of Standard & Poor's, it exposes the investor to nine industry sectors.
Combined wit ...
and is listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
(). It was ranked as Canada's 17th largest corporation by revenue as of June 2014 and as the ninth-largest by capitalization as of June 2015.
History
![BellCanada1902](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/BellCanada1902.png)
The Bell Telephone Company of Canada Ltd. was created by an
act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
on 29 April 1880. Later known as Bell Canada, its charter granted it the right to construct telephone lines alongside all public rights-of-way in Canada. Under a licensing agreement with the US-based
American Bell Telephone Company
The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company – the New Englan ...
, Bell also manufactured telephones and telephone equipment, an activity that would be spun off in a separate company that later became Northern Telecom and then
Nortel Networks
Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Queb ...
.
In 1983, all of the Bell Canada group of companies (also known as the "Bell Group") were placed under a new holding company, Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. (BCE). This corporate reorganization resulted in Bell Canada and its subsidiaries, including Northern Telecom (later Nortel Networks) and over 80 others, becoming subsidiaries of the new holding company, BCE. Under the new parent, each company was owned directly by BCE, which had the benefit of freeing the manufacturing company, Nortel, and other holdings from the heavily regulated telephone company, Bell Canada. Under a variety of leaders, BCE has embarked on a series of
diversifications,
consolidations, and
corporate strategies. In 1988, Bell Canada Enterprises was renamed BCE Inc.
Diversification and expansion
In 1983,
A. Jean de Grandpré, chairman of Bell Canada, was appointed as the first chairman and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) of BCE. The company soon embarked on a major diversification into property development, the energy sector, financial services, and other sectors. Within a few years, it became the first Canadian company to report CAD$1 billion in profits.
When
Jean Monty
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* J ...
assumed the job of CEO in 1998, he pursued a convergence strategy, attempting to combine both content creation and distribution within BCE, and to take greater advantage of the emerging Internet market. BCE's acquisition in 2000 (and subsequent financing) of overseas carrier
Teleglobe
VSNL International Canada or Tata Communications (Canada) ULC (formerly Teleglobe) is an international telco carrier. The company is a subsidiary of Tata Communications, part of India's Tata Group and based in Montreal, Quebec. Part of their r ...
cost billions of dollars. BCE sold Teleglobe two years later; Jean Monty resigned and was succeeded by
Michael Sabia
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
as CEO.
Refocus on core business
Michael Sabia refocused BCE on its core telecommunications business, prompting BCE to buy back the 20% share in Bell Canada that it had sold in 1999 to
Ameritech
AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and before that American Information Technologies Corporation), is an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the se ...
(later acquired by
SBC Corporation
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
). BCE also spun off operating units that it did not consider to be core to its business, including
Emergis
TELUS Health, a division of Telus, TELUS Communications Inc, is a Canadian provider of digital health technology and services with close to 3,000 employees. Based in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec with offices in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and Britis ...
in 2004, and
Bell Globemedia
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
and
Telesat Canada
Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa.
History
Telesat began as Telesat Canada, a Canadian Crown corporation created by an Act of Parl ...
in 2006.
On February 1, 2006, stating the need to remain competitive, Bell Canada announced job cuts of 3,000 to 4,000 employees by the end of 2006.
On April 28, BCE announced that CEO Michael Sabia was taking a 455% pay increase; his salary being raised from
C$1.21 million to $6.71 million. The pay included a $1.25 million salary, a $2.2 million bonus that Sabia converted to deferred share units, a long-term incentive payout of $3 million and other compensation, the filing shows. Bell Canada also posted record revenue increases for the previous fiscal year.
Under pressure from
investors
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
, on October 11, 2006, BCE announced it would be wound down, with its remaining assets converted to an
income trust
An income trust is an investment that may hold equities, debt instruments, royalty interests or real properties. They are especially useful for financial requirements of institutional investors such as pension funds, and for investors such as retir ...
so its income could be distributed directly to
shareholders
A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal owner ...
through
dividends
A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...
, avoiding
corporate taxes
A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed at ...
. The new entity was planned to be named "Bell Canada Income Fund". As part of this restructuring, Bell Aliant offered to take Bell Nordiq private, while remaining separate from the new Bell trust. Due to
announced changes in taxation law by the Canadian federal government, on December 12, 2006, BCE announced it would not proceed with its planned conversion to an income trust. It then started planning a restructuring that would have eliminated the BCE holding company, but this was put on hold when the company began attracting
takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to t ...
bids.
In February 2021 and in line with the growing importance of 5G wireless networks, BCE announces the launch of the largest investment program in its history to double the proportion of Canadians covered.
Proposed takeover
Due to its stagnant
share price
A share price is the price of a single share of a number of saleable equity shares of a company.
In layman's terms, the stock price is the highest amount someone is willing to pay for the stock, or the lowest amount that it can be bought for.
B ...
, starting in April 2007, BCE was courted for acquisition by pension funds and private equity groups, including a consortium led by the
Canada Pension Plan
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP; french: Régime de pensions du Canada) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old ...
Investment Board (with
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
as one of the participants), a consortium led by the
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (french: Régime de retraite des enseignantes et des enseignants de l'Ontario) is an independent organization responsible for administering defined-benefit pensions for school teachers of the Canadian pr ...
(OTPP), and a consortium that included
Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
. On June 30, 2007, BCE accepted a bid of $42.75 per share in cash, for a total valuation of $51.7 billion, from the group led by the OTPP, and including
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity firm, private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented pri ...
,
Madison Dearborn Partners
Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts of privately held or publicly traded companies, or divisions of larger companies; recapitalizations of family-owned or closely held companies; ba ...
,
Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
Global Private Equity, and
Toronto-Dominion Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. T ...
. The proposed deal would have been the largest acquisition in Canadian history and the largest
leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...
ever.
The deal was approved by BCE shareholders,
Quebec Superior Court
(whose ruling was overturned by the
Quebec Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal.
History
The Court wa ...
,
but was later upheld by the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
),
and the CRTC, subject to certain conditions for its corporate governance structure to ensure that Bell remained under Canadian control.
(See ''
BCE Inc v 1976 Debentureholders'' for further information).
Due to the tightening of the
credit market
The bond market (also debt market or credit market) is a financial market where participants can issue new debt, known as the primary market, or buy and sell debt securities, known as the secondary market. This is usually in the form of bonds, ...
caused by the
subprime mortgage crisis
The United States subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the Financial crisis of 2007–2008, 2007–2008 global financial crisis. It was triggered by a large decline ...
, the investment banks financing the deal – led by
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
,
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
and the
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
– started negotiations on May 16, 2008, to revise the terms of their loans with greater interest rates and greater restrictions to protect themselves.
On July 4, 2008, BCE announced that a final agreement had been reached on the terms of the purchase,
with all financing in place, and Michael Sabia left BCE, with
George Cope assuming the position of CEO on July 11.
On November 26, 2008, BCE announced that
KPMG
KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
had informed BCE that it would not be able to issue a statement on the solvency of the company after its
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
, one of the required conditions of the buyout. As a result, the purchase was cancelled.
[
]
Expanding again into mass media
![CTV Antenna Byward Market Ottawa (36419322222)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/CTV_Antenna_Byward_Market_Ottawa_%2836419322222%29.jpg)
With
Shaw Communications purchasing the
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
,
Vidéotron
Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Quebecor, it primarily s ...
launching its wireless telephone network with video content as a key selling point,
and the enormous popularity of wireless and Internet video and other media streams at the
2010 Vancouver Olympics,
Bell once again sought to bring a content provider into its portfolio. In September 2010, Bell announced a deal to reacquire full control of the broadcasting properties owned by
CTVglobemedia
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
including the
CTV Television Network
The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...
. Bell also obtained a 15% interest in ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', CTVglobemedia's other major asset, with the remaining 85% owned by the
Thomson family
This is a family tree of the Thomson family. The Thomsons are Canada's wealthiest family, includes some of Canada's wealthiest individuals, and hold the titles Barons of Fleet in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
{{Tree chart/end
List o ...
.
Through this acquisition, Bell responded to an increasing trend away from traditional cable and satellite delivery channels and towards new
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
methods over the Internet and wireless networks.
The CRTC approved the transaction in March 2011.
In 2016, BCE announced that it had entered an agreement to acquire
Manitoba Telecom Services
Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in Manitoba.
Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manito ...
(MTS) in a transaction worth $3.9 billion. The deal was approved by both companies' shareholders and
boards of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, and closed in March 2017 after the
Competition Bureau
The Competition Bureau (french: Bureau de la concurrence) is the competition regulator in Canada. It is an independent Canadian law enforcement agency that ensures that markets operate in a competitive, innovative manner.
Headed by the Comm ...
and other agencies approved of the acquisition.
Major subsidiaries
As of 2016, BCE Inc. has three primary divisions: Bell Canada,
Bell Mobility
Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator, wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE (telecommunication), LTE and Evolved HSPA, HSPA+ on i ...
, and Bell Media, comprising over 80% of BCE's revenue.
Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant is a brand name used by Bell Canada for telecommunications services in Atlantic Canada.
Prior to 2015, Bell Aliant Inc. (formerly Aliant Inc.) was a separate company providing telecom services in the Atlantic provinces and a few othe ...
was a subsidiary company formed in 1999 from the merger of the four BCE-controlled telephone companies serving Canada's
Atlantic provinces
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
. In 2016, the operations of Bell Aliant were consolidated into those of Bell Canada.
Its Bell MTS Inc. subsidiary, owns 100% of its Bell Canada division which includes Bell Aliant, Bell Mobility,
Bell Satellite TV
Bell Satellite TV (french: Bell Télé; formerly known as Bell ExpressVu, Dish Network Canada and ExpressVu Dish Network and not to be confused with Bell's IPTV Bell Fibe TV, Fibe TV service) is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite ...
, Bell Media,
Bell Fibe TV
Bell Fibe TV is an IP-based television service offered by Bell Canada in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is bundled with a FTTN or FTTH Bell Internet service, and uses the Mediaroom platform. Bell Fibe TV officially launched on Septem ...
,
Virgin Mobile Canada and
Lucky Mobile
Lucky Mobile is a Canadian prepaid mobile virtual network operator and a subsidiary of Bell Canada. Founded in December 2017, Lucky Mobile operates on the Bell Mobility network alongside fellow subsidiary Virgin Plus. It targets the same market ...
. Bell's flanker wireless brand, Virgin Mobile was officially rebranded to Virgin Plus on July 19, 2021 to reflect the brand's evolution beyond just wireless offerings which now includes Virgin Plus Internet as well as Virgin Plus TV.
The Bell Media assets include two Canadian conventional television networks,
CTV and
CTV 2
CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cab ...
along with dozens of specialty television channels including
BNN Bloomberg
BNN Bloomberg (formerly Business News Network and Report on Business Television) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. It broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. The channel is he ...
,
CTV Comedy Channel
CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octobe ...
,
CTV News Channel,
CTV Drama Channel
CTV Drama Channel (formerly known as Bravo) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media.
The channel was founded as the Canadian version of the U.S. channel Bravo (which is now owned by NBCUniversal) on January 1, 199 ...
,
CTV Sci-Fi Channel
CTV Sci-Fi Channel is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts speculative fiction and related programming.
The network was launched on October 17, 1997 as Space under its original pa ...
,
MTV Canada,
MTV2 Canada
MTV2 is a Canadian pay television channel focused on lifestyle and general entertainment programming aimed at youth and teen audiences. The channel is owned by Bell Media, with the MTV2 name and branding used under an brand licensing, agreement ...
,
Much,
E!,
TSN, and 109 licensed radio stations in 58 markets across the country, all part of the iHeartRadio brand and streaming service. In 2014, Bell launched their
CraveTV
Crave (initially named CraveTV) is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily American-based se ...
streaming service which offers the latest originals from Crave, HBO, HBO Max and Showtime, exclusive access to the entire HBO library, the biggest Hollywood blockbusters, and the best French-language content in Canada.
BCE also owns 18% of the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
club, and (together with BCE's pension plan) a 37.5% interest in
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(owner of several Toronto sports franchises). Several regional and local telecommunications companies (including
Bell MTS
Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in Manitoba.
Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manitob ...
,
Northwestel
Northwestel Inc. (stylized as NorthwesTel) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and long-distance carrier in the territories of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Originally est ...
,
Télébec,
NorthernTel
NorthernTel LP (formerly Northern Telephone Limited or NTL) is a telephone company in Ontario, Canada.
NorthernTel began in April 1905 in New Liskeard, Ontario, as the Temiskaming Telephone Company. It grew by buying other regional telephone prov ...
, and
Dryden Municipal Telephone Service) are direct subsidiaries of BCE rather than under Bell Canada.
Bell Canada
![Campus Bell in Montreal 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Campus_Bell_in_Montreal_1.jpg)
Bell Canada formed the primary historic core of the company in central, Atlantic, and northern Canada.
*
Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant is a brand name used by Bell Canada for telecommunications services in Atlantic Canada.
Prior to 2015, Bell Aliant Inc. (formerly Aliant Inc.) was a separate company providing telecom services in the Atlantic provinces and a few othe ...
* Distribution (Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic) – Bell Canada, Cablevision du Nord de Quebec Inc.
*
Bell MTS
Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in Manitoba.
Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manitob ...
*
Bell Satellite TV
Bell Satellite TV (french: Bell Télé; formerly known as Bell ExpressVu, Dish Network Canada and ExpressVu Dish Network and not to be confused with Bell's IPTV Bell Fibe TV, Fibe TV service) is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite ...
– Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership
Bell Media
![299 Queen Street West-1 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/299_Queen_Street_West-1_2022.jpg)
Bell Media is the BCE broadcast and media subsidiary. In 2000, BCE bought the CTV Television Network for $2.3 billion. The company combined CTV with its holdings in ''The Globe and Mail'' newspaper to form Bell Globemedia, with BCE owning 70% and
Thomson Newspapers
The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organisation Ltd (ITOL) and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to fo ...
and Woodbridge Co. Ltd. the remainder. In 2005, BCE sold its controlling interest in Bell Globemedia for $183 million to Woodbridge,
Torstar
Torstar Corporation is a Canadian mass media company which primarily publishes daily and community newspapers. In addition to the ''Toronto Star'', its flagship and namesake, Torstar also publishes daily newspapers in Hamilton, Peterborough, Ni ...
, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, with BCE retaining a 20% stake. The company was subsequently renamed CTVglobemedia. In 2007, it acquired most assets of
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHU ...
. In 2010 BCE bought out the other owners, acquiring CTV's specialty television, digital media, conventional TV and radio broadcasting platforms. In August 2015, BCE sold its remaining 15% stake in the Globe and Mail to Woodbridge. Bell Media's subsidiaries:
* Bell Media TV
* Bell Media TV – Sports Specialty Services
* Bell Media TV – Specialty Services (other than Sports)
* Bell Media Radio
* Bell Media Astral – Radio, TV, & Specialty Services
Other holdings
Below is partial list of the holdings of the BCE conglomerate.
Montreal Canadiens
In 2009, BCE partnered with the Molson family in acquiring the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club and the
Bell Centre
Bell Centre (), formerly known as Molson Centre (), is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Montr ...
. The $575 million purchase was termed "the richest deal in NHL history"; BCE's share was reported to be $40 million.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
In 2011, together with
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...
and Kilmer Sports (holding company of
Larry Tanenbaum
Lawrence M. Tanenbaum (born 1945) is a Canadian businessman and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). He owns a 25% stake in MLSE through his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc.
Early life
Tanenbaum was born to a Jewish family, ...
), BCE acquired
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
, owner of the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
professional hockey team. BCE's interest is held in partnership with Rogers Communications through the holding company 8047286 Canada Inc., 50% owned by Rogers and 50% by BCE holding company 7680147 Canada Inc., which is in turn 74.67% owned by BCE and 25.33% by BCE Master Trust Fund (investment fund of Bell's pension plan).
Kilmer Sports and BCE also co-own the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
, a team the companies purchased in 2015; BCE and Kilmer each own 50% of the team.
Past holdings
BCE Development
BCE Development was founded as Daon Development by Vancouver-based developer
Jack Poole
John Wilson "Jack" Poole, (April 14, 1933 – October 23, 2009) was a Canadian businessman who, as the head of the VANOC bid committee, was responsible for bringing the 2010 Winter Olympics to Canada.
He died of pancreatic cancer shortly afte ...
in 1964. In the mid-1970s, Daon became known for expanding aggressively in the United States. The company first entered the American market in 1976 and nearly quadrupled its total assets to $1.67 billion in four years. It borrowed heavily to finance deals for premium office space and condominium conversions. By 1981, the company had assets worth more than $2 billion. When interest rates soared, however, Daon was caught overextended, could not meet its debt payments, and was forced into a major restructuring with its bankers. In 1985, BCE acquired 68% of Daon from its creditors and changed its name to BCE Development Corporation in February 1986. In March 1986, it agreed to acquire US$1 billion of commercial real estate from the American subsidiary of the Oxford Development Group Ltd., more than doubling BCED's portfolio. BCE stated its goal was to convert from a land developer to a developer of prime commercial properties.
In July 1990, BCE Inc. sold 50% ownership in BCE Development to Carena Developments Ltd. (controlled by the
Toronto branch of the Bronfman family). BCED was renamed Brookfield Development Inc. (now
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contr ...
) followed in 1994 by the remaining 50%.
Montreal Trust
In March 1989, BCE bought a 64% stake in
Montreal Trust
The Montreal Trust Company was formed in 1889 and 100 years later described itself as "one of Canada's largest trust companies."
History
Montreal Trust was founded by the Bank of Montreal. Donald Smith and Edward Clouston were amongst its chart ...
from
Power Financial
Power Financial Corporation is a Canadian multinational company that was founded in 1984. Power Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada, is an international management and holding company with interests in financial ...
for $547-million. The diversification was considered a "natural evolution" due to BCE's long-standing interest in financial services, its familiarity in selling services to the public, and its in-house money management operations. In 1993, BCE sold Montreal Trust to
Scotiabank for about $290-million, taking a substantial loss.
Nortel Networks
![BellPayPhone3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/BellPayPhone3.jpg)
When BCE was created in 1983,
Northern Telecom
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
was transferred from a subsidiary of CRTC-regulated Bell Canada to a non-regulated subsidiary of BCE. In 1998, with Nortel's acquisition of
Bay Networks, the company's name was changed to Nortel Networks. As a consequence of the stock transaction used to purchase Bay Networks, BCE's holding was diluted to a minority stake. In 2000, BCE
spun out
''Spun Out'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Jeff Biederman, Brent Piaskoski and Brian K. Roberts for CTV. It premiered on March 6, 2014 and ended on October 3, 2015, with a total of 26 episodes over the course of 2 seasons.
Premise
T ...
Nortel, distributing its stock in Nortel to its shareholders. Nortel's share price collapsed with the dot-com crash of 2000 and combined with a mishandling of a subsequent accounting investigation, the company never fully recovered. It was liquidated in 2009.
Teleglobe Inc.
In 1987, BCE purchased a 30% stake in Memotec Data Corporation for $196 million. When Memotec purchased international telecommunications carrier Teleglobe Canada from the Canadian government in 1987, the company was renamed Teleglobe Inc. In March 2000, BCE announced the purchase of the Teleglobe shares it did not own for $9.65 billion. In April 2002, BCE announced it was cutting off long-term funding of Teleglobe, would give up on the company, and take a charge of up to $8.5 billion. In 2005, Teleglobe was sold to the
Tata Group
The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
and is now known as
VSNL International Canada
VSNL International Canada or Tata Communications (Canada) ULC (formerly Teleglobe) is an international telco carrier. The company is a subsidiary of Tata Communications, part of India's Tata Group and based in Montreal, Quebec. Part of their r ...
. In September 2002, it sold its voice and data business for $197 million.
Telesat Canada
In 1970, Bell Canada acquired a minority interest in satellite telecommunications carrier
Telesat Canada
Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa.
History
Telesat began as Telesat Canada, a Canadian Crown corporation created by an Act of Parl ...
. In 1998, BCE raised its stake to 100% at a cost of $158 million for the 42% of shares it did not already own. In December 2006, BCE announced the sale of Telesat to
Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and syste ...
and the
Public Sector Pension Investment Board
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is a Canadian Crown corporation established by an act of Parliament in September 1999. PSP Investments is one of Canada's largest pension investment managers, with CAD $204.5 billion of ...
for CAD$3.28 billion.
TransCanada Pipelines
In 1983, BCE acquired a controlling 42% stake in
TransCanada PipeLines Limited
TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, a ...
(TCPL). In 1990, it announced its departure from the energy sector and sold its stake in TCPL for $1.1 billion.
Corporate governance
BCE Inc.’s ISS Governance QualityScore as of December 3, 2019 is 2. The pillar scores are Audit: 1; Board: 3; Shareholder Rights: 3; Compensation: 3.
Corporate governance scores are provided to
Yahoo! Finance
Yahoo! Finance is a media property that is part of the Yahoo! network. It provides financial news, data and commentary including stock quotes, press releases, financial reports, and original content. It also offers some online tools for perso ...
by
Institutional Shareholder Services
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) is a proxy advisory firm. Hedge funds, mutual funds and similar organizations that own shares of multiple companies pay ISS to advise (and often vote their shares) regarding share holder votes. It i ...
(ISS). Scores denote
decile rankrelative to index or region. A decile score of 1 denotes the lowest governance risk, while a score of 10 denotes the highest governance risk.
Board of directors
As of March 2020, the current
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
are: Barry K. Allen, Mirko Bibic, Sophie Brochu, Robert E. Brown, David F. Denison, Robert P. Dexter, Ian Greenberg, Katherine Lee, Monique F. Leroux, Calin Rovinescu, Karen Sheriff, Robert C. Simmonds, and Paul R. Weiss.
Since inception, BCE has had ''five''
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
s:
*
A. Jean de Grandpré: 1983–1988
*
Jean Monty
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* J ...
: 1988–2002
*
Michael Sabia
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
: 2002–2008
*
George A. Cope
George A. Cope (born 28 July 1961) is a Canadian businessman, and the former CEO of Bell Canada.
Early life and education
Cope was born in Scarborough, Ontario and grew up in Port Perry. Cope's father played for a short time for the Toronto A ...
: 2008–2020
*Mirko Bibic: Current
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control, state=expanded
01
Bell Canada
Bell System
Conglomerate companies of Canada
Holding companies of Canada
Information technology companies of Canada
Mass media companies of Canada
Telecommunications companies of Canada
Multinational companies headquartered in Canada
Companies based in Montreal
Verdun, Quebec
Corporate spin-offs
Canadian companies established in 1983
Holding companies established in 1983
Mass media companies established in 1983
Telecommunications companies established in 1983
Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
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1983 establishments in Quebec