Bell Canada, Sixty North Unity still ‘working towards’ $1B Northwestel deal
Closing conditions include securing financing, regulatory approvals
An Indigenous-led consortium still plans to buy Northwestel, a subsidiary of Bell Canada, the largest telecommunications provider in the North, Bell Canada said Tuesday. (File photo)
One year after announcing the sale, Bell Canada is still “working towards” completing a $1-billion deal to sell the North’s largest internet provider to a consortium of Indigenous organizations.
The deal, which would see Bell sell Northwestel to Sixty North Unity, was announced about a year ago, on June 11, 2024.
Such transactions “customarily” require several months, and the parties are “working towards this milestone,” Bell spokesperson Jessica Benzinger said Tuesday in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
Sixty North Unity is led by Yukon First Nations Telco in Yukon, Denendeh Investments Inc. in the Northwest Territories, and Kitikmeot Corp. in Nunavut.
The timeline for closing the sale depends on Sixty North Unity securing financing, as well as “certain closing conditions, including confirmatory due diligence” and regulatory approvals, Bezinger said.
Northwestel serves 97 communities across the three territories, British Columbia and Alberta.
If the deal goes through, it would see Northwestel become the largest fully Indigenous-owned telecom in the world, Bezinger said.
Sixty North Unity intends to maintain the existing Northwestel team, but also increase Indigenous representation in the workforce in part through expanded training and mentorship, the company said in a 2024 news release announcing the deal.
As for Bell, it would remain Northwestel’s largest customer and maintain a strong and strategic partnership, the release said.
Northwestel’s integrated marketing director Catherine Newsome declined comment.
Sixty North Unity couldn’t be reached for comment.
When asked about the estimated timeline for the sale, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, government regulator of the communications sector, declined to provide details as it is not “involved in the private negotiations,” Mirabella Salem, the regulatory authority’s spokesperson, said in an email.
Why pay Bell $1,000,000,000 for NWTel?
Invest a small part of that sum in SSI Canada / Qiniq and just offer better service at a lower price.
Bell/Northwestel have been ripping off the north for decades with the worst service and highest costs for the crappiest service.
It was Elon and his Starlink system that finally brought competition and affordable internet to the north.
So why should the taxpayer be on the hook for a billion dollars for a Bell potato company?
Shut this farce down!
I fully agree with you that Bell has ripped us off for many years. Please can someone advise this consortium not to buy this overpriced company. This is a very bad deal as technology has changed.
Bell was gonna invest bringing fiber to nunavik couole of years back ago. But they backed down because its too far and too expensive. Isn’t Our land even further ? 🤔
As if Northwestel is supported by the whole country, they just got ripped off.