The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Telus chief executive officer Darren Entwistle is entertaining $1-billion-plus bids for a minority stake in the telco's 3,000-cellphone-tower network. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that until U.S. President Donald Trump made "elbows up" the national posture in Canada, U.S. tower owners were the natural buyers. Considering Mr. Trump's chaotic tariff war -- and Ottawa's threat to block any foreign investment that undermines Canada's economic security -- the safe play is shopping it to Canadian fund managers. These used to be relatively straightforward transactions with U.S. investors. The highest offers would come from U.S. tower owners that boast scale in the sector. For Telus, the timing stinks. The telco launched the auction of a 49-per-cent stake in its tower network just before Mr. Trump poisoned relations by imposing tariffs and talking up Canada as the 51st state. Telus's preferred partners include Birch Hill and Brookfield Asset, two asset managers with expertise in telecom infrastructure. No matter who invests in Telus's towers, the company is likely to get less cash for the network than it would have raised prior to Mr. Trump's return to the White House.
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