Buyout Firm Onex Joins BCE Takeover Battle

Canada's biggest buyout firm, Onex, has joined forces with the CPP Investment Board in the takeover battle that's unfolding for BCE (BCE). The Globe and Mail reports:

Onex is jumping into the takeover battle because it is attracted to BCE's strong Bell Canada brand and huge customer base, and the potential for a shift in corporate culture that could drive far greater profits, according to sources close to the company.

Toronto-based Onex brings the ability to win contested auctions and operational expertise with companies to the CPP team, along with Canadian content in a bid that must be dominated by domestic funds in order to meet foreign ownership restrictions on telecom companies. Any bid for BCE will likely see buyers put in up to $8-billion of equity and borrow another $24-billion to purchase the country's largest phone company.

I posted about Onex last November. I didn't then -- and don't now -- own stock in the company. But it's run by a top notch guy.