CPP Investment Board says no plans for new BCE bid

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said on Thursday it has no interest in making a renewed bid for BCE Inc (BCE.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (BCE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) now that a court ruling has threatened to derail a takeover offer for the telecom company.

The CPPIB, which had its own bid for BCE rejected last June in favor of a C$34.8 billion ($35.2 billion) offer from a group of investors led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, also said there is no capability for mounting a leveraged buyout of BCE's size given the current market environment.

"We put a lot of time and energy into our bid ... but that's a long time ago. At that point we redirected our attention elsewhere," David Denison, CPPIB's chief executive, told Reuters. "The size of a deal, whether it's BCE or any other company, that size of deal could not happen in today's markets."

The Teachers' deal for BCE could fall apart following a Quebec court ruling on Wednesday that backed debtholders who complained the transaction was unfair.

Denison said he still sees many opportunities but nothing close to the "mega-buyouts" that market saw during the first quarter of 2007.

Earlier, the CPPIB said its assets under management rose to C$122.7 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, up 5.2 percent from C$116.6 billion in the previous year.

It also said it had a negative investment return of 0.29 percent, its first negative return since 2003.

($1=$0.99 Canadian)

(Reporting by Frank Pingue; editing by Rob Wilson)