CANADA PENSION PLAN JOINS BTG IN BID FOR BRAZIL CARRIER

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is joining a fund managed by Banco BTG Pactual SA to make a binding offer for the fibre unit of Brazilian telecom carrier Oi SA, according to people familiar with the matter. The bid is expected Jan. 22, along with two other binding offers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Highline do Brasil, part of Digital Colony, and Ufinet, which is backed by Italy’s Enel SPA, both plan to make bids for the business, they said. Oi is planning to sell as much as 51 per cent of its subsidiary, known as Infraco, with a value for the whole company of at least 20 billion reais (US$3.6 billion). Oi has been working to pare down its operations while under bankruptcy protection.