The way I heard it on Radio Canada (French CBC) in my car Bell paid a 39% premium on the share price to buy Astral Media. Astral worked the Canadian broadcasting system very very well. Now Bell owns it.
Does anyone else remember Bell’s acquisition of Daon Developments (later BCE Developments or BCED for short), the CTV purchase. Bell has a long history of buying above market and losing their shareholders’ shirts.
More importantly for the rest of us, is it good policy to have vertical integration in this area? Does anyone want to suggest how much they will lose when they sell it? Place your bets now.
You are showing your grey hairs Rolland when mention Daon developments. Having said that, BCE has a long history of destroying shareholder value due to management hubris.
Anyone looking to invest in telecom companies in Canada would be well advise to stick with Telus or MTS because they do not aspire to build empires.