La Caisse Acquires a Huge Stake in BCE's Tower Unit
Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, will use the US$1.74bn from La Caisse to fund AI growth and reduce debtBell Canada is selling a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company to global investment group La Caisse for CAD2.45bn (US$1.74bn).
The new entity, dubbed TowerCo (its final name will be announced at transaction close), is valued at around CAD4.91bn (US$3.49bn) and, according to BCE, will become Canada's largest dedicated tower company with more than 5,000 sites.
BCE, Bell Canada's parent company, expects the deal to close in Q1 2027, provided it receives the necessary regulatory approvals and satisfies other customary closing conditions.
TowerCo will lease capacity on the transferred towers back to Bell and will focus on growth through new site builds, site densification and third-party colocation.
Bell will retain a 50.1% controlling equity interest in TowerCo while La Caisse will hold the remaining 49.9%.
“This partnership unlocks the significant value embedded in our infrastructure assets while continuing to operate the award-winning wireless network our customers rely on every day,” says Mirko Bibic, BCE and Bell Canada President and CEO.
“As we have consistently communicated since early 2025, our approach is to strengthen our balance sheet, invest in growth and deliver total returns to shareholders.
“This transaction is in keeping with that approach, and the proceeds will be used to execute against this very clear strategy.”
Retaining spectrum and network assets
Bell will retain full ownership and control of its spectrum, all active network equipment and its owned land.
The telecoms operator will maintain access to existing sites using long-term agreements and TowerCo will develop new sites for Bell as needed to ensure the continued delivery of reliable wireless services.
The partial monetisation of these assets aligns with BCE's long-term capital allocation strategy set out at its Investor Day 2025 event.
This strategy includes a commitment to reach a net debt leverage ratio of 3.5x by the end of 2027 and maintain the flexibility to fund key growth areas such as AI-powered solutions.
Boosting efficiency
TowerCo is expected to carry no financial debt at closing and Bell will consolidate its financial results into its own financial statements.
“A telecom tower can carry more than one network,” says Emmanuel Jaclot, La Caisse's Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability.
“By making this infrastructure available to different service providers, we can strengthen coverage, improve overall system efficiency, hence helping more people access the connectivity they rely on every day.
“Bell's extensive footprint and La Caisse's global digital infrastructure expertise will give this new platform the focus and long-term perspective to grow.”
J. Bruce Furlong is TowerCo’s CEO (featured at the top of this post). He is a Bell veteran, having spent more than 35 years at the company. He left in September 2023.
Since then has held several roles, including Chief of Operations at MOBIA and Commercial Business Leader at Amdocs. Most recently, he had been working as a telecom industry advisor on a freelance basis
“At TowerCo, we're building a dedicated team exclusively focused on the development, operation and long-term growth of premier wireless tower infrastructure across Canada,” Bruce says.
“By partnering with La Caisse on a clear mandate, we are well positioned to grow this infrastructure portfolio and support future network deployment to provide the connectivity that matters most to Canadians.”
Derek DeCloet of Bloomberg also reports Quebec’s La Caisse to buy BCE towers stake for $1.7 billion:
Quebec's public pension manager will buy a 49.9% interest in wireless towers owned by BCE Inc., a deal that will help the telecommunications firm pare its debt.
Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec will pay C$2.45 billion ($1.7 billion) for the stake, according to a statement Tuesday. La Caisse did a similar deal last year with Telus Corp., another of Canada's three large wireless companies.
BCE reduced its dividend in 2025 to free up cash for trimming debt and deploying capital to areas such as artificial intelligence data centers, as growth in the Canadian wireless sector has slowed to a very slow pace.
The new wireless infrastructure company, called TowerCo, will be Canada's largest dedicated tower company with more than 5,000 sites.
"Our approach is to strengthen our balance sheet, invest in growth and deliver total returns to shareholders. This transaction is in keeping with that approach," BCE Chief Executive Officer Mirko Bibic said in the statement.
Harshita Mary Varghese of Reuters also reports Canada's BCE sells minority stake in new tower unit to La Caisse for $1.75 billion:
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Canadian telecom firm BCE (BCE.TO) said on Tuesday its subsidiary, Bell Canada, had agreed to sell a minority stake in the newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company to global investment group La Caisse for C$2.45 billion ($1.75 billion).
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On Tuesday, BCE announced a partnership with La Caisse, which will acquire 49.9% stake in Bell wireless tower infrastructure company:
This news release contains forward-looking statements. For a description of the related risk factors and assumptions, please see the sections entitled “Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements" later in this news release.
BCE Inc. (NYSE, TSX: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company1, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary Bell Canada (“Bell”) has entered into a definitive agreement with global investment group La Caisse, which will acquire a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company for a purchase price of CAD $2.45 billion, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction values the tower company at approximately $4.91 billion and surfaces significant value in BCE’s infrastructure.
The partial monetization of Bell’s passive wireless infrastructure assets is consistent with BCE’s long-term capital allocation strategy set out at Investor Day 2025, including its commitment to a net debt leverage ratio of 3.5x2 by the end of 2027 and its flexibility to fund key growth areas, including AI-powered solutions.
The new wireless tower infrastructure company, “TowerCo”, will own and operate Bell’s portfolio of wireless infrastructure assets, making it Canada’s largest dedicated tower company with more than 5,000 sites across the country. The Montréal-headquartered company will focus on growing the business through new site builds, site densification and third-party colocation.
Under the terms of the agreement, TowerCo will lease capacity on the transferred towers to Bell. Bell will retain a 50.1% controlling equity interest in TowerCo, with La Caisse holding the remaining 49.9%. TowerCo is expected to have no financial debt at closing and its financial results will be consolidated by Bell into its financial statements.
Bell will retain full ownership and control of its spectrum, all active network equipment and owned land. Bell will maintain access to existing sites through long-term agreements and TowerCo will develop new sites for Bell as needed, ensuring continued delivery of high-quality, reliable wireless services to Canadians.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, following receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Quotes
"This partnership unlocks the significant value embedded in our infrastructure assets while continuing to operate the award-winning wireless network our customers rely on every day. As we have consistently communicated since early 2025, our approach is to strengthen our balance sheet, invest in growth and deliver total returns to shareholders. This transaction is in keeping with that approach, and the proceeds will be used to execute against this very clear strategy."
- Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada"A telecom tower can carry more than one network. By making this infrastructure available to different service providers, we can strengthen coverage, improve overall system efficiency, hence helping more people access the connectivity they rely on every day. Bell’s extensive footprint and La Caisse’s global digital infrastructure expertise will give this new platform the focus and long-term perspective to grow."
- Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability at La Caisse"At TowerCo, we’re building a dedicated team exclusively focused on the development, operation and long-term growth of premier wireless tower infrastructure across Canada. By partnering with La Caisse on a clear mandate, we are well positioned to grow this infrastructure portfolio and support future network deployment to provide the connectivity that matters most to Canadians."
- J. Bruce Furlong, CEO, TowerCoABOUT BCE
BCE is Canada's largest communications company3, leading the way in advanced fibre and wireless networks, enterprise services and digital media. By delivering next-generation technology that leverages cloud-based and AI-driven solutions, we’re keeping customers connected, informed and entertained while enabling businesses to compete on the world stage. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca or BCE.ca.
About LA CAISSE4
La Caisse has invested for over 60 years with a dual mandate: generate optimal long-term returns for its 48 depositors, who represent over 6 million Quebecers, and contribute to Québec’s economic development.
As a global investment group, La Caisse is active in the major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private credit. As at June 30, 2026, it held CAD 552 billion in net assets. For more information, visit LaCaisse.com, LinkedIn or Instagram.
Alright, let me get to this latest towers deal between La Caisse and BCE.
First thing to remember: La Caisse has a lot of experience investing in cell towers all over the world and now domestically.
It is one of the largest, if not the largest cell tower owners in the world and its infrastructure team loves these investments.
What is the attraction of cell towers? It's a fantastic investment for a large pension fund like La Caisse because it allows it to garner inflation-protected, regulated fees (leases) over the long run as networks use these towers to deliver data to customers.
Why is BCE entering into this deal with La Caisse?
Simple: Large telecommunications companies have to invest billions to grow, and this allows them to reduce their highly leveraged balance sheets, keep investing in AI and data centers to grow and offer their customers the latest network technologies.
It's a win-win for La Caisse and BCE, and this is why you are seeing more of these types of deals between the largest Canadian pension funds and telecommunications companies.
For example, I recently covered why CPP Investments partnered up with AT&T and GIP on a fibre joint venture (read my comment here).
It's not towers, but the same principle applies here.
AT&T is selling part of its fibre network to GIP and CPP Investments, manage the assets and the two partners will garner inflation-adjusted, regulated fees over the long run owning part of these assets.
AT&T will reduce its debt, invest in new technologies, and focus on growth.
In many ways, these large telecom companies are a perfect partner for large, well-capitalized pension funds that can enter into joint ventures with them.
It's the type of business that runs on massive debt, and they have to find growth using the best capital solutions to reduce their debt profile while investing in new technologies and maintaining their focus on long-term growth.
So, La Caisse will acquire a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company, TowerCo, for a purchase price of CAD $2.45 billion and start collecting yield (fees) once the deal is done.
And since this deal is with BCE, which is based in Quebec, La Caisse is also fulfilling its dual mandate.
Below, The Globe and Mail's Andrew Willis joins CJAD's The Elias Makos Show to discuss the new cell phone tower deal between La Caisse and BCE.
This is a great discussion where Andrew Willis explains very clearly why this investment makes sense for both parties and why La Caisse is a great partner for this type of deal.
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