After much speculation - is anything come as a surprise anymore? - BCE Inc. has sold most of its stake in CGI Group Inc. for C$859 million. So now what? Does BCE pay down debt, issue a special dividend to shareholders who have seen their shares do little over the past four years, or perhaps get really bold and buy Shaw Communications? In any event, BCE has an ever-growing war-chest to explore all or any of those options. Unless BCE does something dramatic such as acquire Shaw, the cash doesn't change much because BCE still faces the same strategic challenges: a declining local phone business amid competition from the cablecos and the Vonages/Skypes of the world, and a sluggish wireless business. Until BCE decides on what's next, the focus will continue to be slashing costs (a.ka. blocking and tackling) to protect the bottom line.
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BCE Sells CGI Stake
by
Mark Evans
on Fri 16 Dec 2005 11:26 AM EST | Permanent Link
After much speculation - is anything come as a surprise anymore? - BCE Inc. has sold most of its stake in CGI Group Inc. for C$859 million. So now what? Does BCE pay down debt, issue a special dividend to shareholders who have seen their shares do little over the past four years, or perhaps get really bold and buy Shaw Communications? In any event, BCE has an ever-growing war-chest to explore all or any of those options. Unless BCE does something dramatic such as acquire Shaw, the cash doesn't change much because BCE still faces the same strategic challenges: a declining local phone business amid competition from the cablecos and the Vonages/Skypes of the world, and a sluggish wireless business. Until BCE decides on what's next, the focus will continue to be slashing costs (a.ka. blocking and tackling) to protect the bottom line.
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