Canada-based telecom services provider BCE Inc. announced today a dividend reduction to $1.75/share (about 56% reduction) starting July 15, 2025, to address its elevated capital structure We view the dividend reduction as a credit-enhancing action, however we expect the company?s leverage will improve but remain elevated in 2025 at about 3.8x (pro forma the dividend reduction and the closure of Ziply Fiber) and to our downside trigger of 3.75x in 2026. We believe the risk remains that competitive headwinds in Canada could slow deleveraging. We revised our outlook on BCE and its related entities to negative from stable and affirmed all ratings on the company, including its 'BBB' issuer credit rating (ICR). The negative outlook reflects the risk of a
