“We are happy that MTS shareholders so clearly support the creation of Bell MTS and our plan to deliver the world’s best fibre and mobile broadband services to Manitobans,” said George Cope, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. “We look forward to working with the MTS team to complete the transaction, and to investing in the network and service innovations that will put Manitobaat the forefront of Canadian communications.”

The special resolution to approve the statutory plan of arrangement, which will see Bell acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of MTS, was supported by 99.66% of the 43,098,172 votes cast by MTS shareholders. Announced on May 2, the transaction is valued at approximately $3.9 billion and is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2024, subject to customary closing conditions including court and regulatory approvals.

Recognizing the powerful brand and community presence MTS has built, the companies’ combined operations in Manitoba will be known as Bell MTS, and Winnipeg will become Bell’s Western Canada headquarters. With the addition of MTS’s 2,700 employees, Bell’s Western Canada team grows to 6,900 people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

Bell has announced a 5-year, $1 billion commitment to expand broadband wireless and fibre communications services in Manitoba after the transaction closes, greatly enhancing consumer choice and competition in the province.

As a first step, Bell and MTS on May 20 announced plans to complete wireless coverage along Highway 75, the vital transportation corridor linking Winnipeg and other Manitoba communities with the U.S. border.

Bell’s broadband investment will include the introduction of the groundbreaking Gigabit Fibe Internet service, which delivers Internet speeds on average up to 20 times faster than those currently offered to MTS customers; Fibe TV, the fast-growing broadband television service that has propelled Bell into the #1 spot in Canadian TV; expansion of Bell’s award-winning LTE wireless network, with average data speeds twice as fast as those currently available to MTS customers; and the integration of the MTS Winnipeg data centre operations into Bell’s leading national network of 27 data hosting and cloud computing centres across Canada.