BCE Inc. — BrandWiki

BCE Inc.

Overview

BCE Inc.

net income
former names	Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. (1983–1988)
type	Public
traded as	tsx: BCE nyse: BCE S&P/TSX 60 component
industry	Telecommunications Mass media
key people	Mirko Bibic (president & CEO) Gordon Nixon (chair) Glen LeBlanc (CFO & vice chair, Atlantic Canada)
products	Fixed line and mobile telephony Internet services Digital television Radio broadcasting Print
revenue	CA$24.41 billion (2024)‡R1R‡
operating income	CA$10.59 billion (2024)‡R1R‡

BCE Inc., an abbreviation of its former name Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc.[3] Founded through a corporate reorganization in 1983, when Bell Canada, Northern Telecom, 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[4] in the Verdun borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

BCE Inc. is a component of the S&P/TSX 60 and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the American-based New York Stock Exchange. It was ranked as Canada's 17th biggest corporation by revenue as of June 2014,[5]

assets	CA$73.49 billion (2024)‡R1R‡

equity	CA$17.36 billion (2024)‡R1R‡

num employees	40,390 (2024)‡R1R‡

subsid	Bell Canada Bell Media Bell Technical Solutions Bell Mobility Bell Aliant Virgin Plus Bell Internet Bell Satellite TV Bell Fibe TV Fibe Bell MTS Lucky Mobile The Source (2009–2024) (Converted to Best Buy Express) Glentel Inc. (50%) Northwestel Ziply Fiber

foundation	1983

location	Verdun, Quebec, Canada‡R2R‡

homepage	bce.ca

History

The Bell Telephone Company of Canada Ltd. was created by an act of Parliament on April 29, 1880.[7] 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, 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.

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).[8] 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.[9] In 1988, Bell Canada Enterprises was shortened to 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 (CEO) of BCE.[10] 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 CA$1 billion in profits.

When Jean Monty 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 cost billions of dollars. BCE sold Teleglobe two years later; Jean Monty resigned and was succeeded by Michael Sabia as CEO.[11][12]

Refocus on core business

Major subsidiaries

As of 2016, BCE Inc. has three primary divisions: Bell Canada, Bell Mobility, and Bell Media, comprising over 80% of BCE's revenue.[51] Bell Aliant was a subsidiary company formed in 1999 from the merger of the four BCE-controlled telephone companies serving Canada's Atlantic provinces. In 2016, the operations of Bell Aliant were consolidated into those of Bell Canada.[52]

Its Bell MTS Inc. subsidiary, owns 100% of its Bell Canada division which includes Bell Aliant, Bell Mobility, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Media, Bell Fibe TV, Virgin Mobile Canada and Lucky Mobile. 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.[53]

The Bell Media assets include three Canadian conventional television networks, CTV, CTV 2 and Noovo along with dozens of specialty television channels including BNN Bloomberg, CTV Comedy Channel, CTV News Channel, CTV Drama Channel, CTV Sci-Fi Channel, Much, E!, Oxygen, TSN, RDS, USA Network and 109 licensed radio stations in 58 markets across the country.[54] It also operates the premium television service (formerly The Movie Network) and over-the-top streaming service Crave, which most prominently holds rights to HBO, Max,[55] and Starz original series, as well as other feature films and original series.[56][57]

BCE also owns 18% of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club.

Bell Canada

Bell Canada formed the primary historic core of the company in central, Atlantic, and northern Canada.

Bell Aliant
Distribution (Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic) – Bell Canada, Cablevision du Nord de Quebec Inc.
Bell MTS
Bell Satellite TV – Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership

Bell Media

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 and Woodbridge Co. Ltd. the remainder. In 2005, BCE sold its controlling interest in Bell Globemedia for $183 million to Woodbridge, Torstar, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, with BCE retaining a 20% stake.[58]

Past holdings

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment

In 2011, together with Rogers Communications and Kilmer Sports (holding company of Larry Tanenbaum), BCE acquired Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors professional sports teams. 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).[63]

Kilmer Sports and BCE co-owned the Toronto Argonauts, a team the companies purchased in 2015; BCE and Kilmer owned 50% of the team before selling it to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in 2018 .[64]

On September 18, 2024, it was announced that BCE's 37.5% interest in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) would be sold to Rogers Communications for $4.7 billion; BCE stated that the sale would be used to fund foundational changes at the company towards being a "techco" rather than a "telco". As part of the agreement, Bell Media reached long-term deals to maintain its media rights to MLSE-owned teams for 20 years at fair market value.[65][66][67][68]

BCE Development

BCE Development was founded as Daon Development by Vancouver-based developer Jack Poole 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.[69] 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.[70]

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) followed in 1994 by the remaining 50%.[71]

Montreal Trust

In March 1989, BCE bought a 64% stake in Montreal Trust from Power Financial for $547 million. The diversification was considered a "natural evolution" due to BCE's long-standing interest in financial services, its familiarity with 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.[74]

Nortel Networks

When BCE was created in 1983, Northern Telecom 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 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.[75][76]

Teleglobe Inc.

In 1987, BCE purchased a 30% stake in Memotec Data Corporation for $196 million.[77] 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.[78] 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.[79] In 2005, Teleglobe was sold to the Tata Group and is now known as VSNL International Canada. In September 2002, it sold its voice and data business for $197 million.[80]

Telesat Canada

In 1970, Bell Canada acquired a minority interest in satellite telecommunications carrier Telesat Canada. In 1998, BCE raised its stake to 100% at a cost of $158 million for the 42% of shares it did not already own.[81] In December 2006, BCE announced the sale of Telesat to Loral Space & Communications and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board for CAD$3.28 billion.

TransCanada Pipelines

In 1983, BCE acquired a controlling 42% stake in TransCanada PipeLines Limited (TCPL). In 1990, it announced its departure from the energy sector and sold its stake in TCPL for $1.1 billion.[82]

Proposed takeover

Due to its stagnant share price, 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 Investment Board (with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts as one of the participants), a consortium led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), and a consortium that included Cerberus Capital Management.[22] 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, Madison Dearborn Partners, Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, and Toronto-Dominion Bank. The proposed deal would have been the largest acquisition in Canadian history and the largest leveraged buyout ever.[23][24] The deal was approved by BCE shareholders,[25] Quebec Superior Court[26] (whose ruling was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal,[27] but was later upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada[28]), and the CRTC, subject to certain conditions for its corporate governance structure to ensure that Bell remained under Canadian control.[29] (See BCE Inc v 1976 Debentureholders for further information).

Due to the tightening of the credit market caused by the subprime mortgage crisis, the investment banks financing the deal – led by Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland – started negotiations on May 16, 2008, to revise the terms of their loans with greater interest rates and greater restrictions to protect themselves.[24] On July 4, 2008, BCE announced that a final agreement had been reached on the terms of the purchase,[30] with all financing in place, and Michael Sabia left BCE, with George Cope assuming the position of CEO on July 11.[31]

On November 26, 2008, BCE announced that KPMG had informed BCE that it would not be able to issue a statement on the solvency of the company after its privatization, one of the required conditions of the buyout. As a result, the purchase was cancelled.[32][33]

Cuts and changes in business strategies

In June 2023, BCE announced that it was cutting 1,300 positions across its telecom and media operations (around three per cent of its workforce, and of which approximately 30% were unfilled vacancies), including six per cent of positions at Bell Media (which had 5,645 employees at the end of 2022).[40][41] The company also announced it would be closing or selling nine AM radio stations, some of which had changed to automated formats during previous rounds of cuts. Three stations—CKWW, CKOC, and CHAM—were sold to CINA Media Group.[40][42] BCE blamed a number of industry changes and increasing losses in its news divisions for the cuts, while questioning the regulatory priorities of the federal government and the CRTC; one BCE executive mentioned having waited for reforms on some items for years, while also citing "relentless regulatory intervention" by the CRTC to cut wireless and Internet service pricing.[43] This rationale was questioned by union officials and other experts who felt Bell should have better prepared for industry changes, or could have waited for the full implementation of the Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11) and the Online News Act (Bill C-18).[43]

On February 8, 2024, BCE announced that it would cut 4,800 positions, citing declining revenues, and new CRTC requirements mandating that the company offer wholesale access to its fibreoptic networks to competitors. The cuts resulted in major cuts at Bell Media, including cutbacks at CTV News and the proposed sale of nearly half of its radio stations.[44][45][46] In June 2024, BCE announced that it had agreed to sell Northwestel to a consortium of First Nations groups in Northern Canada for around $1 billion.[47]

On November 4, 2024, BCE announced its intent to acquire U.S. telco Ziply Fiber—which operates in the Pacific Northwest—for $5 billion (US$3.6 billion).[48][49] On August 1, 2025, BCE acquired Ziply Fiber, BCE stated that Ziply will be a wholly owned but separate business unit [50]

BCE Inc.

History

Diversification and expansion

Refocus on core business

Major subsidiaries

Bell Canada

Bell Media

Other holdings

Montreal Canadiens

Past holdings

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment

BCE Development

Montreal Trust

Nortel Networks

Teleglobe Inc.

Telesat Canada

TransCanada Pipelines

Corporate governance

Board of directors

See also

External links

References

Proposed takeover

Expanding again into mass media

Cuts and changes in business strategies