Takeover Rumours Spread To Bell Aliant

Article Excerpt

BELL ALIANT REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS INCOME FUND $32 (Toronto symbol BA.UN; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Units outstanding: 135.2 million; Market cap: $4.3 billion; SI Rating: Above average) earned $0.58 a unit in first three months of 2007, up 56.8% from $0.37 a year earlier. These figures exclude unusual items. Pro-forma revenues, which assumes the fund took its present form at the start of 2006, grew 3.6%, to $851.4 million from $821.9 million. Strong demand for wireless and Internet services offset lower local and long distance revenue. BCE Inc. owns 42.6% of Bell Aliant, and the units have moved up in the past few weeks on BCE takeover speculation. It’s possible that if BCE goes private, its new owners will sell their Bell Aliant stake. That could turn Bell Aliant into a takeover target. Investors should always treat a company’s takeover appeal as a bonus, and not the sole reason to invest. Like other phone companies, Bell Aliant should benefit from new rules…