Bell is set to buy U.S. fiber internet provider Ziply Fiber for around $5 billion CAD (U.S. $3.65 billion) to expand its network in the United States.
The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2025, will add 1.3 million fiber connections in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, pushing Bell’s North American reach to a total of 9 million fibre connections, with plans to hit over 12 million by 2028.
To fund the acquisition, Bell’s parent company BCE plans to use $4.2 billion CAD from the sale of its Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) stake, plus a backup $3.7 billion US loan if the MLSE sale is delayed. Once finalized, Ziply Fiber will continue to operate as a separate unit based in Kirkland, Washington.
“This acquisition marks a bold milestone in Bell’s history as we lean into our fibre expertise and expand our reach beyond our Canadian borders. Fibre is at the heart of what we do, and we’re proud to connect people and businesses and enable them to do more through our fibre networks,” said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO, BCE and Bell Canada, in a statement on Monday.
“Bell’s leadership and vision aligns perfectly with our commitment to improve the connected experiences of our communities through fast, reliable fiber Internet and a refreshingly great experience,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO, Ziply Fiber.
Ziply Fiber was founded in 2020 and operates primarily in parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana and calls itself “America’s fastest internet”. The company came to life after it acquired the Northwest operations of Frontier Communications. Ziply Fiber has competitive pricing and also no contracts or data caps.
Bell is also focusing on managing its debt. Therefore, it announced a pause on dividend increases, holding its annual dividend at $3.99 per share for now.
Starting January 2025, BCE will let eligible shareholders reinvest their dividends in company shares at a 2% discount, a move meant to free up cash for the company’s expansion. This discounted reinvestment program is awaiting final approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange.
This is huge purchase to expand Bell’s internet presence to the U.S. As for any potential price increases due to this massive investment, well, let’s just wait and see.
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So Canadian companies can buy up american providers but American ones can't do likewise.
Fantastic, love our consumer dollars going towards this garbage. What about fiber in the rest of Canada?
Can I recommend Metamucil? 🙂 But seriously, no doubt that Bell customers will pay for this expansion
So, Bell would have to compete and offer lower prices?!?
casue the SP drop 10% today