The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that since Manitoba Telecom Services announced a $465-million deal to sell Allstream to a U.S. buyer in November, there has been speculation that MTS was a takeover target -- and many Bay Street analysts pegged BCE as the most likely buyer. The Globe's Christine Dobby writes that Jay Forbes, who took over as MTS chief executive officer in early 2015, dismissed a possible sale to BCE during an interview in late March. However, within weeks of that interview, MTS received an unsolicited bid from BCE. CEO George Cope offered to come to Winnipeg to present the offer, but Mr. Forbes was concerned that "he's a very imposing and noticeable figure." They agreed to meet in "neutral territory" where no one was likely to recognize them and settled on Los Angeles, where Mr. Forbes was visiting family and Mr. Cope had other business. Within two weeks of the offer, the deal was signed. "I think there was general understanding in the investment community that the Allstream asset that was owned by MTS probably was a regulatory hurdle too high for a company like Bell," Mr. Cope told analysts on a conference call Monday. Without Allstream, MTS was more attractive.