BCE Buyout Could Be Reworked

<I>The New York Times</I> reports lenders are trying to renegotiate the $33 billion deal, the largest leveraged buyout ever.
By Robert Holmes ,

Shares of Canadian telecom giant

BCE

(BCE) - Get Report

fell Monday on a report that the $33 billion leveraged buyout deal was in danger of unraveling over financing terms.

The New York Times

reported Monday that financing banks were scrambling to renegotiate a privatization deal for BCE, Canada's largest telecom operator and owner of Bell Canada. The banks are pushing for new terms that include higher interest rates and tighter restrictions, signs the buyers say show the banks are unwilling to fund the deal, according to the report.

BCE shares were recently down $2.04, or 5.3%, to $36.77 in trading on the

New York Stock Exchange

.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan,

Merrill Lynch

( MER),

Toronto-Dominion Bank

(TD) - Get Report

and private-equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners are in the group that agreed to the buyout in June 2007.

If the BCE deal were to be reworked, it would become the latest in a string of buyouts that were altered or scrapped following the credit crunch that led to tighter lending practices from financiers. Deals in place to take

United Rentals

(URI) - Get Report

,

PHH

(PHH)

and

Sallie Mae

(SLM) - Get Report

private were scuttled due to financing problems.

More recently, a leveraged buyout for radio operator

Cumulus Media

(CMLS) - Get Report

was dumped Monday after buyers failed to agree on terms for the deal.

Two days later,

Clear Channel Communications

(CCU) - Get Report

and private-equity companies Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital agreed to a new pact with a group of banks that had initially balked at fully funding the deal, settling on a purchase price of $17.9 billion, or $36 a share. That compares to the earlier buyout price that was set at $39.20 a share.

Citigroup

(C) - Get Report

,

Deutsche Bank

(DB) - Get Report

and the

Royal Bank of Scotland

(RBS) - Get Report

, which are among the lead lenders in the BCE deal, were in the syndicate that forced a lower buyout price for Clear Channel.

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