BURNABY, British Columbia-BC Telecom Inc. announced its shareholders voted almost
unanimously in favor of a merger between BC Telecom and Telus Corp. Earlier, Telus shareholders also voted in very
strong favor of the merger.
BC Telecom said the merger was expected to close Jan. 31, pending final court approval.
Shares of the newly formed company, BCT/Telus Communications Inc., officially will begin trading on Monday, Feb.1
on the Toronto, Ontario, Montreal, Quebec, Vancouver, British Columbia and Alberta stock exchanges.
BC
Telecom also reported its net earnings for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, were $87.4 million, or 70 cents per share,
compared with $71.3 million, or 58 cents per share, for fourth quarter 1997. The company’s operating revenues in the
fourth quarter increased 5.8 percent to $817.4 million from $772.8 million last year.
“One important indicator
of our success is market share. BC Tel Mobility added more than 71,000 customers last year, and continues to attract
nearly one out of every two new wireless customers in the province,” said Ken Crump, BC Telecom’s chief
financial officer.
