On the sale of MLSE and acquisition of Ziply 1. Bibic is emulating what Stankey of ATT did and better. ATT spun-off its Warner media assets and gave the proceeds to shareholders as shares in the combined Warner Bros. Discovery on April 8, 2022. ATT did not benefit from the proceeds $$$ but gave those to the shareholders. That was a mistake that Bibic avoided with MLSE and will repeat with Bell Media and I give him credit for it. He is keeping the proceeds from the sale of BCE's MLSE share and will keep the proceeds from the sale of Bell Media, not giving those proceeds away to shareholders; and investing the proceeds of MLSE in a business it can leverage better than an investment fund, generating 400 m EBITDA and heading to 1B in a few years. The MLSE asset is replaced now by a very productive fiber asset which increases EBITDA by 400m year 1 and that the Caisse will be funding the fiber expansion in the US just as Blackrock is funding that of ATT without increasing debt. It is fair to conclude that Bibic has (a) divested a la ATT from a non-core asset and invested in a core-asset, and (b) able to support future dividend increases.
2. The cash dividend payout ratio should trend or drop below 1 with the 2% bonified DRP.
3. Bibic is exploring additional divestitures such as Bell Media to reduce debt and accelerate the deployment of fiber in the US, with a strategic financial partner who will put up the cash. He is emulating ATT success without giving away the proceeds of the sale of MLSE and soon Bell Media. If not convinced, look at ATT stock appreciation. They announced an annual 10B buyback last week and project 18B in free cash flow (after all capital investments are paid) next year.