Telecom giant says reuniting with its spinout will accelerate AI and SaaS transformation.
Canadian telecommunications giant Telus has agreed to reclaim its spinout, Telus Digital, from the public markets. The parent company will pay $539 million USD ($743 million CAD) as it looks to bring its digital and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities closer to home.
Telus will purchase all of the outstanding shares of Telus Digital for $4.50 USD per share in cash, or a fractional share in the parent company, at a shareholder’s discretion. The offer is a modest bump up from Telus’s original proposal of $3.40 USD per share from June, when it first made known its intention to reabsorb Telus Digital.
The transaction reflects the company’s belief that “closer operational proximity” between Telus and Telus Digital will enable enhanced AI capabilities across the business.
Telus President and CEO Darren Entwistle said the transaction reflects the company’s belief that “closer operational proximity” between Telus and Telus Digital will enable enhanced AI capabilities and software-as-a-service transformation across all lines of its business. That includes telecommunications, Telus Health, and Telus Agriculture and Consumer Goods.
Entwistle added that the deal is also expected to help the firm’s global growth in verticals like financial technology, gaming, media, and health.
Formerly known as Telus International, Telus Digital provides enterprises with customer experience management, automation, and consulting services, including a proprietary platform for clients to manage generative AI across their company.
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Canadian telecommunication firms like Telus have been carving out their spot in the AI economy. Earlier this year, Telus partnered with global semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia to upgrade the AI compute power of some of its data centres and turn them into “sovereign AI factories.”
Telus Digital was listed on the public markets under the symbol “TIXT” at $25 USD per share in February 2021, joining several other Canadian tech companies cashing in on the initial public offering (IPO) boom of the time. The spinout’s stock price has since tumbled in value by 85 percent, trading as low as $2.13 USD per share earlier this year. It will now join the other companies in its IPO cohort that have gone private over the past two years.
The transaction is anticipated to close later this year, subject to shareholder vote, regulatory, and court approvals. Afterwards, Telus Digital will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Telus already owns approximately 87 percent of the voting power in its subsidiary, and Telus Digital’s largest minority shareholder, EQT, has also agreed to vote in favour of the deal.
Feature image “Telus Garden (2025)” by Northwest, used under CC BY 4.0 / Cropped from original.