OTTAWA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Supreme Court of Canada will hand down on Friday the reasons for its earlier judgment, now overtaken by events, that the C$34.8 billion ($29 billion) leveraged buyout of BCE Inc could proceed.
That buyout has since collapsed but at 9:45 a.m. (1445 GMT) on Friday the court will nonetheless release the text of the decision it had rendered on June 20.
It will no longer affect the BCE deal, which collapsed because of a ruling by the telecoms giant's accountants that the post-deal company would fail a solvency test because of its huge debt.
The court had ruled in favor of shareholders against BCE's bondholders, and the ruling may help lay out rules for future takeovers and buyouts.
The case is BCE Inc. et al. v. A Group of 1976 Debentureholders et al, Supreme Court of Canada, 32647.
($1=$1.20 Canadian)
(Reporting by Randall Palmer) Keywords: BCE/COURT (randall.palmer@thomsonreuters.com; +1-613-235-6745; Reuters Messaging: randall.palmer.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
That buyout has since collapsed but at 9:45 a.m. (1445 GMT) on Friday the court will nonetheless release the text of the decision it had rendered on June 20.
It will no longer affect the BCE deal, which collapsed because of a ruling by the telecoms giant's accountants that the post-deal company would fail a solvency test because of its huge debt.
The court had ruled in favor of shareholders against BCE's bondholders, and the ruling may help lay out rules for future takeovers and buyouts.
The case is BCE Inc. et al. v. A Group of 1976 Debentureholders et al, Supreme Court of Canada, 32647.
($1=$1.20 Canadian)
(Reporting by Randall Palmer) Keywords: BCE/COURT (randall.palmer@thomsonreuters.com; +1-613-235-6745; Reuters Messaging: randall.palmer.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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