BCE said on 27 October that its subsidiary Bell Canada had signed a definitive agreement with La Caisse, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which will buy a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower company for C$2.45bn, subject to customary adjustments. The price values the business, called TowerCo, at about C$4.91bn.
TowerCo will own and operate Bell’s portfolio of more than 5,000 sites, which BCE describes as Canada’s largest dedicated tower company, from a headquarters in Montréal. Bell keeps a 50.1% controlling interest and will consolidate TowerCo in its accounts. It also keeps its spectrum, all active network equipment and owned land. TowerCo will lease capacity on the transferred towers to Bell, which keeps access to existing sites through long-term agreements. TowerCo is expected to have no financial debt at closing, which is due in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
A template La Caisse has used before
It is La Caisse’s second tower deal in just over a year. In September 2025 Telus closed the sale of a 49.9% interest in its tower operator, Terrion, to La Caisse for about C$1.26bn, a price that valued Terrion at over C$2.5bn, Wealth Professional reported. Terrion has about 3,000 sites. Benefits and Pensions Monitor calculated that Bell’s valuation implies less than C$1m per site. Rogers has also raised money by selling a stake in its wireless backhaul network.
For the sellers the motive is the balance sheet. BCE says the partial monetisation of its passive wireless assets is consistent with the capital allocation strategy it set out at its 2025 Investor Day, including a net debt leverage ratio of 3.5 times by the end of 2027, and preserves its flexibility to fund growth areas such as AI-powered solutions. Bell cut its annual dividend by more than half in May 2025. “This partnership unlocks the significant value embedded in our infrastructure assets,” said Mirko Bibic, BCE’s president and chief executive.
What a pension owner is buying
For La Caisse, which held C$552bn in net assets at 30 June 2026, the attraction is long-dated lease income from essential infrastructure with a large anchor tenant already in place. TowerCo will be open to all carriers, with Bell as its largest customer, BNN Bloomberg reported, and it plans to grow through new site builds, site densification and third-party colocation. “A telecom tower can carry more than one network,” said Emmanuel Jaclot, La Caisse’s head of infrastructure and sustainability. Adding third-party tenants to existing towers is one of the three growth routes the company names.
The structure shapes the risk. A minority stake in a company expected to be debt-free at closing gives La Caisse unlevered exposure, while Bell keeps control and the accounting consolidation. The announcement does not disclose lease escalators, the length of Bell’s commitments or the governance rights attached to the 49.9% stake, and those terms will decide how much of any upside reaches the minority owner. Until more carriers sign on, revenue will lean heavily on a single counterparty. The deal also arrives as La Caisse’s infrastructure book lags: those holdings returned 7.2% in the first half of 2026 against a 12.7% benchmark, according to Wealth Professional.
There is a counter-argument on the seller’s side too. Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi said in a note: “We don’t see the transaction as meaningfully deleveraging the balance sheet.” Yaghi expects BCE to recycle the capital into new growth opportunities rather than use it to reduce interest expense, BNN Bloomberg reported. BNN Bloomberg is owned by Bell Media, a division of BCE. If the proceeds fund growth rather than debt reduction, TowerCo’s minority owner will be tied to an anchor tenant whose leverage target is still more than a year away.
What to watch
- Regulatory approvals and completion, expected in the first quarter of 2027.
- Whether TowerCo signs third-party tenants, the core of the colocation case.
- BCE’s progress towards net debt leverage of 3.5 times by the end of 2027, and where the C$2.45bn is deployed.
- Whether other carriers or pension investors repeat the 49.9% template.
Sources
- BCE announces partnership with La Caisse, which will acquire 49.9% stake in Bell wireless tower infrastructure company, La Caisse, 27 October 2026
- BCE announces partnership with La Caisse, which will acquire 49.9% stake in Bell wireless tower infrastructure company, BCE via PR Newswire, 27 October 2026
- BCE sells 49.9% stake in new wireless tower company to La Caisse for $2.45B, BNN Bloomberg, 27 October 2026
- La Caisse follows Telus deal with $2.45 billion Bell tower stake, Wealth Professional, 28 October 2026
- BCE sells 49.9% of Bell tower business to La Caisse for $2.45 billion, Benefits and Pensions Monitor, 28 October 2026
- Why Bell Is Selling Nearly Half Its Wireless Towers for $2.45B, iPhone in Canada, 27 October 2026