Ottawa Business Journal

BCE Inc. plans to proceed with an initial public offering of shares in Ottawa-based Telesat Canada after failing to find a buyer for the firm, The Globe and Mail reports.

The paper says BCE will go the IPO route after talks with several potential buyers broke down. The paper says negotiations collapsed "over issues that included the value of the business and who would run it."

An IPO of Telesat shares could be worth as much as $1 billion, and would be one of the largest in Canada this year.

Telesat owns five satellites and had revenues of $478 million last year.

If Telesat does go public and BCE remains as its majority owner, The Globe says the stock could eventually attract a takeover premium if the federal government relaxes foreign ownership restrictions in the telecom sector.

The paper says the IPO could be announced in mid-September.