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$52 billion BCE takeover deemed dead, funeral planned for next week

Man, this one has been a bumpy ride, and oddly enough, it's not even over. Well, it's over, but not over. The back-and-forth over whether or not BCE would be bought out has come to an abrupt halt, as auditor KPMG "determined that the company-to-be wouldn't pass a solvency test required as a condition of closing the deal." On the table was a $42.75-a-share cash offering by a group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but all that's lost now. According to BCE Acquisition Group: "Because KPMG has concluded that a required test for the solvency opinion was not met, this mutual condition to completion of the acquisition could not be, and was not, satisfied." Here's where things get wonky; BCE is now vigorously attempting to procure a $1.2 billion "breakup fee" that the Teachers group doesn't agree with. We're still waiting to see if BCE will initiate litigation, but you can bet said Teachers organization ain't scared.

[Via mobilesyrup]