Updating BCE Inc., Telus Corp., Enbridge Inc., and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Article Excerpt

BCE INC. $57 (www.bce.ca) recently acquired AlarmForce Industries for $182 million. BCE will now sell AlarmForce’s Western Canadian operations (B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan) to TELUS CORP. $45 (www. telus.com) for $66.5 million. The deal makes sense for both companies. Most of BCE’s landline residential customers are east of Saskatchewan. Telus has the majority of its residential lines in Alberta and British Columbia. Both BCE and Telus are buys. ENBRIDGE INC. $44 (www.enbridge.com) operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also distributes gas to consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. Starting with the March 2018 payment, Enbridge investors will receive a quarterly dividend of $0.671 a share, up 10.0% from $0.61. The shares now yield a high 5.3%. The company continues to integrate its $37 billion purchase of U.S.-based Spectra Energy. However, a big acquisition like that can have hidden problems that delay the expected gains…