The owner of Northwestel says it’s still finalizing a deal announced last summer to sell the company to an Indigenous-led consortium.
Sixty North Unity – a group of Indigenous companies from the Yukon, NWT and Nunavut – said in June 2024 it intended to buy Northwestel, the North’s dominant internet provider, from owner Bell in a transaction worth up to $1 billion.
Little has been heard about the deal since. Multiple requests to Sixty North Unity this month were not returned.
On Monday, Bell told Cabin Radio negotiations are continuing. The telecoms giant declined to provide a timeline for the deal’s conclusion.
“Bell’s sale of Northwestel to Sixty North Unity is a unique and transformative transaction that upon completion, will see Northwestel become the largest fully Indigenous-owned telecom in the world,” Bell stated.
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“A transaction of this nature customarily requires several months after executing the transaction agreement to reach closing, and the parties are working towards closing in line with the anticipated timeline.”
Asked what that anticipated timeline was, the company did not provide further detail other than to state: “The timeline for closing this transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including the completion of confirmatory due diligence, securing financing and receipt of regulatory approvals.”
Sixty North Unity currently includes Yukon First Nations Telco, the NWT’s Denendeh Investments and Nunavut’s Kitikmeot Corporation.
“A number of additional Indigenous organizations and corporations are currently analyzing the opportunity, and we anticipate further announcements in that respect,” the consortium has stated on its website since last year.
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If the deal goes ahead, the new owners of Northwestel will take on a company operating in a shifting regulatory environment.
Federal regulator the CRTC recently announced the creation of a monthly subsidy to bring down the cost of internet access for northerners.
The CRTC also ordered Northwestel to pay customers back whenever lengthy internet outages take place, and told the company to open up its infrastructure so competitors can have more access to it – though some critics say that measure didn’t go far enough.
