A sign for Telus Communications in Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/ File Photo
(Reuters) -Telus said on Tuesday it would buy the remaining shares in its digital services unit in a $539 million cash-and-stock deal, as the Canadian telecom company looks to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities.
The company has offered $4.50 per share to buy the Telus Digital shares it does not own and take the unit private. The deal has a total transaction value of about $2.9 billion, the companies said.
Telus is taking full ownership of its digital services unit, which offers IT services, to better integrate the subsidiary's AI and software capabilities.
The digital unit's shareholders will get an option to either get $4.50 in cash, 0.273 Telus share, or half of each in cash and stock. The option for stock is capped at 25% of the total consideration and any excess paid in cash, Telus said.
On a U.S. dollar basis, the offer is 52% above Telus Digital's unaffected closing price of $2.96 on June 11, Telus said. The price is also 32% higher than Telus' initial $3.40 proposal on June 11.
The Canadian telecom company currently holds about 86.9% of Telus Digital's voting power.
Telus Digital's independent special committee unanimously recommended the new deal and its board approved it, the companies said.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth-quarter of this year.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
