Bell Obtains Regulatory Approvals To Complete MTS Deal; To Update Guidance

(RTTNews) - BCE Inc. (BCE.TO, BCE) and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT.TO) announced the approval by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Competition Bureau of Bell's acquisition of MTS. Bell has now obtained all regulatory approvals required to complete the transaction and launch Bell MTS on March 17, 2017. Bell also announced it expects to capture increased annualized cost synergies of approximately $100 million from the integration of MTS, double the previous $50 million estimate announced on May 2, 2016.

Glen LeBlanc, CFO of BCE and Bell Canada, said: "We look forward to updating our 2017 BCE financial guidance targets to reflect the benefits of the MTS acquisition when we report our Q1 2017 results on April 26."