“Enhanced AI Capabilities”; Telus (TSE:T) Looks to Take Back Telus Digital

The artificial intelligence (AI) arms race is heating up, and Canadian companies are looking to get their cut of the action as well. In fact, Telus (TSE:T) looked to pull its digital services subsidiary Telus Digital back into the fold in a bid to improve its development and deployment of AI options. Shareholders found little to like, or little to dislike, and sent shares up fractionally in Thursday morning’s trading.

Telus revealed its interest in bringing back Telus Digital with a “non-binding indication of interest,” reports noted, and would pay $3.40 per share in either cash or shares of Telus to get the shares of Telus Digital that Telus does not already hold. Reports note that that prompted an increase in Telus International (TIXT), which was up to $2.96 at close Wednesday. Telus proper already owns 57% of Telus Digital’s outstanding shares, so getting the whole thing back in its hands almost seems unnecessary.

With Telus Digital back in Telus’ hands, reports note, this would give Telus better control over the artificial intelligence developments currently going on inside Telus Digital. CEO Darren Entwistle noted that the deal would “…enable enhanced AI capabilities and SaaS transformation across all lines of our business.”

A Larger Plan

The move is actually in keeping with a plan released back around the end of May, in which Telus noted that it would be spending over $70 billion over the next five years to augment its infrastructure throughout Canada. The move will hopefully open up new opportunities for investment throughout Canada, and get more customers in the door for Telus as well.

Current plans include the addition of Telus PureFibre service to homes and businesses throughout Canada, including Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, as well as new improvements in both LTE and 5G services throughout Canada. This will impact over 500 different macro and micro regions, giving Telus a greater foothold in wireless operations.

Is Telus Stock a Good Buy?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on TSE:T stock based on five Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 1.06% rally in its share price over the past year, the average Telus price target of C$22.65 per share implies 2.54% upside potential.

See more TSE:T analyst ratings

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