BCE, Rogers partner to buy Glentel wireless retail chain

Two of Canada's biggest communications companies have reached a deal to share control of a chain of cellphone stores that includes WirelessWave, TBooth Wireless and Target Mobile.

Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc., the corporate parents of Rogers and Bell Canada, respectively, say they have reached a deal that would see each company own 50 per cent of Burnaby, B.C.-based Glentel Inc.

Although not a household name itself, Glentel owns 494 retail locations across Canada that operate under the names WirelessWave, Tbooth wireless, Wireless etc. and Target Mobile.

Glentel also operates 735 locations in the U.S., and 147 in Australia and the Philippines.

The company was already selling both Rogers- and Bell-linked phones and plans, but also sold products from feeder brands like Chatr, Fido, SaskTel and Virgin Mobile.

Rogers had earlier filed a court injunction trying to block BCE from buying Glentel outright. As part of the deal announced this week, Rogers will drop that court proceeding and instead buy half of Glentel itself.

Financial terms for the new Rogers/Bell deal were not disclosed, but as part of Bell's original deal for Glentel, BCE would pay about $670 million in cash, stock and debt to buy Glentel outright.