Bell buys one of B.C.’s biggest public companies for $670 million

Glentel, based out of Burnaby, is a phone retailer with hundreds of shopping mall outlets

You may not know its name, but Burnaby-based Glentel is one of B.C.’s largest companies. By revenue, its our 31st largest, in fact, according to BCBusiness‘s last Top 100 ranking, with annual revenues north of $1 billion. But you won’t see Glentel on next year’s list, as it now belongs to Toronto-based Bell, which this morning announced it was acquiring the company for $670 million, assuming its debt, with an equal mix of stock and cash. Glentel has retail outlets in Canada (nearly 500), the U.S. (over 700) and Australia and the Philippines, where its footprint is smaller. Its consumer-facing retailers include Wirelesswave and Tbooth Wireless—small mobile phone retailers typically found inside shopping malls. Upon the announcement, share prices in Glentel roughly doubled.