Other proposals to acquire BCE Inc. "are fraught with considerable political risk," according to Brent Fullard, who is spearheading an alternative financial structure for the telecom operations firm. In a conference call this afternoon, the managing director of Catalyst Asset Management Inc. in Toronto said one competing proposal – merging BCE with rival Telus Corp. – would irk consumers worried about decreased competition for their communication-technology spending. Other proposals, those led by pension funds working alongside US private equity firms, could upset "nationalists" worried about foreign investment, he said. The pension-fund proposals might also impact the federal government, which would see taxable income flowing to investors outside of Canada and beyond the revenue department's reach.

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