"Chris Sorensen
Business Reporter
Bell Canada Inc., whose parent company reported flat first quarter sales in a tough economy, has bought the other half of Virgin Mobile Canada for $142 million in a bid to gird itself from an onslaught of new competitors.
The phone giant said today that it bought the 50 per cent of Virgin Mobile that it doesn't already own along with an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement that allows it to continue using Sir Richard Branson's Virgin brand.
Virgin Mobile will continue to operate as a separate company using Bell's wireless network, but will be sold through some of the same stores as Bell products, including recently acquired retail chain, The Source.
"We think it maximizes the flexibility of our flanker brand strategy," Bell CEO George Cope told analysts during a conference call this morning.
He noted that the decision to buyout Virgin comes as Bell is facing the prospect of more competition in the key wireless sector from new players who purchased wireless airwaves in last year's federal spectrum auction.
He also said that Bell, which also sells wireless services through its discount Solo brand, will now operate two sub-brands, but hinted it may consolidate them in the future.
Bell also revealed a new agreement today with rival Telus Corp. that will see Telus sell Bell's satellite TV service in Alberta and British Columbia under the Telus brand.
Parent BCE Inc. said it earned $377 million, or 48 cents, during the first quarter, compared with $258 million, or 32 cents, in 2008. The gains were mainly the result of a special charge taken during the year-earlier period, executives said.
Revenue, meanwhile, fell by 0.4 per cent to $4.3 billion during the first quarter as the weak economy took a toll on sales of Bell's various telecom products."
Business Reporter
Bell Canada Inc., whose parent company reported flat first quarter sales in a tough economy, has bought the other half of Virgin Mobile Canada for $142 million in a bid to gird itself from an onslaught of new competitors.
The phone giant said today that it bought the 50 per cent of Virgin Mobile that it doesn't already own along with an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement that allows it to continue using Sir Richard Branson's Virgin brand.
Virgin Mobile will continue to operate as a separate company using Bell's wireless network, but will be sold through some of the same stores as Bell products, including recently acquired retail chain, The Source.
"We think it maximizes the flexibility of our flanker brand strategy," Bell CEO George Cope told analysts during a conference call this morning.
He noted that the decision to buyout Virgin comes as Bell is facing the prospect of more competition in the key wireless sector from new players who purchased wireless airwaves in last year's federal spectrum auction.
He also said that Bell, which also sells wireless services through its discount Solo brand, will now operate two sub-brands, but hinted it may consolidate them in the future.
Bell also revealed a new agreement today with rival Telus Corp. that will see Telus sell Bell's satellite TV service in Alberta and British Columbia under the Telus brand.
Parent BCE Inc. said it earned $377 million, or 48 cents, during the first quarter, compared with $258 million, or 32 cents, in 2008. The gains were mainly the result of a special charge taken during the year-earlier period, executives said.
Revenue, meanwhile, fell by 0.4 per cent to $4.3 billion during the first quarter as the weak economy took a toll on sales of Bell's various telecom products."
