BCE Files $5B Shelf Prospectus

BCE Inc., Canada’s largest communications company, filed a final short-form shelf prospectus dated August 1, 2002, with respect to the sale in Canada of up to $5 billion of common shares, preferred shares, debt securities and warrants, and concurrently filed in the U.S. a registration statement pursuant to the multijurisdictional disclosure system qualifying the sale in the U.S. of up to US$3 billion of such securities. The net proceeds that would result from this prospectus will be used to pay for a portion of the cost of the acquisition of the minority interest in Bell Canada held by SBC Communications Inc. of San Antonio, Texas and for general corporate purposes.

BCE was represented in-house by Martine Turcotte, chief legal officer; Marc Ryan, corporate secretary; and Ildo Ricciuto, assistant general counsel, compliance; and by Stikeman Elliott with a team that included Jean Marc Huot, Benoît Dubord, Robert Carelli, Maxime Turcotte and Howard Liebman; and Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York, with a team that included Alan Dean, Donna Chambers and John Meade.