The new Telus tagline: We’re always building Canada.
Telus is spinning off its cell tower business in a major deal with one of Canada’s biggest pension funds.
The company announced it’s selling a 49.9% stake in its new tower operator, called Terrion, to La Caisse (CDPQ) for $1.26 billion. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, is a Montreal-based Canadian pension fund manager that manages retirement and insurance savings of the province’s public sector workers. The move values the new business at over $2.5 billion.
Last month, reports claimed Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), Brookfield, and BCI (British Columbia Investment Management Corporation) held second-round talks with Telus about the tower sale, but there was not mention of CDPQ.
Terrion will own about 3,000 wireless tower sites (does not include antennas or network gear which Telus retains) across B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. Telus will then lease space on them.
The deal is expected to cut Telus’ net debt by about $1.26 billion. The company says it will help them stay on track with plans to lower their debt ratio to 3.0x by 2027.
La Caisse is now a nearly 50% partner in Terrion and brings experience from owning other tower companies around the world. Telus keeps the majority stake at 50.1% and will lease space on the towers from Terrion for at least eight years.
Darren Entwistle, CEO of Telus, said the partnership “unlocks significant value for Telus shareholders” and helps the company focus on next-gen connectivity services. “Terrion will provide an avenue for other wireless carriers to leverage Telus infrastructure on a wholesale basis,” he added.
Eros “Woody” Spadotto, a former Telus executive, has been named CEO of Terrion.
Terrion is being positioned as Canada’s largest dedicated tower operator, offering wholesale access to competitors—a move that could boost wireless competition across the country (in theory at least).
The deal is expected to close by the end of Q3 2025, pending regulatory approval. Telus announced Q2 earnings today, seeing a $245 million net loss for the quarter.
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Hopefully this will free up cash so they can actually improve their terrible network in Ontario.
They will lower their debt to 3x. They don’t have any cash.
At least it’s to a Canadian pension fund, not an American Private Equity Firm.