The $52-billion takeover of BCE Inc. will take place this year, the company announced today. The Montreal-based telecommunications giant said it has entered a final agreement with the company formed by an investor group led by Teachers’ Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Providence Equity Partners Inc., Madison Dearborn Partners LLC and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity.

The purchase price remains at $42.75 a share and the deal is scheduled to close by December 11, BCE said. Prior to closing, the company will not pay dividends on its common shares but will continue to pay dividends on its preferred shares.

“The final agreement, with definitive financing now in place, preserves the $42.75 per common share price announced last June, which the board believes is very much in the best interest of shareholders, the company and Bell Canada, particularly given current capital market conditions,” BCE and Bell Canada board chairman Richard J. Currie said in a release. “BCE secured all third party approvals prior to the June 30 deadline set out in the original agreement.”

The final agreement was approved by the firm’s board of directors after considering, among other things, fairness opinions regarding the consideration to be paid for common shares, the firm said.

CEO Michael Sabia announced last September that he would step down as CEO of BCE and Bell Canada once details the transaction were settled.

The board of directors of BCE confirmed George Cope, named president and CEO of Bell Canada in October 2005, as Sabia’s successor as CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, effective July 11.