BCE snaps up AlarmForce

Article Excerpt

BCE INC. $61.69 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 900.4 million; Market cap: $55.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.bce.ca) has agreed to buy AlarmForce Industries (symbol AF on Toronto). The purchase price is $166 million. AlarmForce is one of the largest home and business security companies in Canada with more than 100,000 subscribers. Its systems include intrusion alarms, and smoke, flood and carbon monoxide detection; automation services, including lighting, climate and lock control systems; and medical alert systems. The acquisition will let BCE expand into home security and monitoring services in Ontario and Quebec. Currently, it operates in Atlantic Canada and Manitoba. It will also let it compete with rival Rogers Communications and its Smart Home Monitoring service. BCE is a buy. buy…