BCE: Calling Canada

The auction of Canadian telecoms giant BCE seemed troubled from the start. Striking a competitive process was hindered by Canadian rules preventing foreign control and a paucity of Canadian private equity money to fund a homegrown deal. So the record leveraged buyout, at C$51.7bn ($48.5 billion), clinched by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Providence and Madison Dearborn looks like a pretty decent outcome. The three partners are offering C$42.75 for shares not already owned by Ontario, BCE’s...