BELL MTS TORONTO (Reuters) - Manitoba Telecom Services Inc (MTS) (>> Manitoba Telecom Services Inc) said on Tuesday its long-time chief executive officer Pierre Blouin plans to retire from his post later this year.
Blouin, who has been at the helm of the regional telco firm for close to a decade, has agreed to stay with the company until a replacement has been appointed and to assist in the transition.
The company said its board has begun a search and expects to announce Blouin's successor in advance of his retirement date to ensure a seamless and orderly transition.
Blouin, a telecom industry veteran, worked for over 20 years at Canadian telecom giant BCE Inc (>> BCE Inc.) before moving across to head MTS.
He brokered a deal to sell the regional player's fiber optic network, Allstream, to a company controlled by Egyptian telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris for C$520 million ($475 million) last May.
The deal was designed to leave MTS as a 'pure-play' regional player, and some investors and analysts at the time speculated it would pave the way for MTS itself to eventually get acquired by a larger national player like BCE or rival Telus Corp (>> TELUS Corporation).
In a surprise move in October last year though the Canadian government blocked the sale of the fiber optic network, citing national security concerns.
MTS stock has fallen roughly 6 percent since then and closed at C$30.60 on Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1 dollar = 1.0946 Canadian dollar)
(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
