TORONTO (Bloomberg) BCE Inc., Canada?s biggest phone company, agreed to buy assets from 360networks Corp. for C$275 million ($201 million) to help it win customers from rivals such as Telus Corp. in Western Canada.

The transaction will give BCE a fibre-optic network for sending calls and data at high speeds, with facilities in cities including Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, Montreal-based BCE said in a statement. The purchase includes GT Group Telecom Services Corp., acquired by 360networks last year.

BCE?s Bell Canada phone unit is expanding in Western provinces as competitors such as Telus boost revenue in Bell Canada?s home market in Ontario and Quebec. 360networks, which exited bankruptcy in 2002, made a ?big gain? from the sale of GT Group, financier Wilbur Ross, a 360networks investor and board member, said in a statement. He didn?t elaborate.

?The growth opportunities are significantly larger in Western Canada for them,? said Greg MacDonald, an analyst at National Bank Financial in Toronto, who has an ?outperform? rating on BCE and doesn?t own the shares.

The acquisition will be ?neutral? or add ?marginally? to earnings starting in 2005, BCE said in the statement. The 360networks assets have about C$1.5 billion of so-called unused tax losses, which BCE can use to reduce its own tax bills. That will mean C$600 million in cash tax savings for BCE in 2005, according to MacDonald?s estimates.

Bell Canada has already expanded in Western Canada this year by buying Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.?s 40 percent stake in their Bell West Inc. Internet venture. Bell Canada wants to gain ground on competitors including Telus, the largest provider in British Columbia and Alberta. Telus? wireline sales increased 5.3 percent in Ontario and Quebec in 2003.

BCE said it will sell some of 360networks?s operations in Eastern Canada to Call-Net Enterprises Inc., which provides telephone service under the Sprint brand in Canada, for an undisclosed price.

The purchase will add more than C$50 million in revenue, Call-Net said in a separate statement. The transactions are expected to close by September, BCE said.

?It?s an excellent deal for both Bell and Call-Net,? MacDonald said. ?Call-Net gets customers and assets at a very attractive price.?

BCE shares were unchanged at C$26.80 at 1:02 p.m. in Toronto Stock Exchange trading. They had dropped 7.3 percent this year. Call-Net rose 48 cents, or 12 percent, to C$4.35.

360networks had bought GT Group, a Canadian phone company, last year to help expand in voice and Internet services. The price was less than C$40 million, Chief Executive Greg Maffei said on a conference call with analysts. He didn?t disclose the gain on the sale of the assets to BCE.

BCE said the acquired business will operate as a division of Bell Canada under the 360networks and Group Telecom brands.

360networks will use the proceeds from the sale to pare its $215 million in debt, Maffei said in an interview. 360networks will focus on its US operations.

360networks and GT Group filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001 and 2002, respectively.

360networks planned to build an 86,000-mile (138,000-kilometre) fibre-optic network linking 100 cities, a strategy that was abandoned as the company?s debt mounted and it overestimated demand for Internet services. GT Group?s revenue slipped as customers cut spending.

360networks sold shares in an initial public offering in 2000, raising $624.8 million, as the company tapped investor demand for fibre-optic network companies. 360networks?s market value peaked at C$23.1 billion on Sept. 6, 2000, when the shares rose to a high of C$35.90. Shares of 360networks are now delisted.

GT Group Telecom?s shares reached C$45 on March 10, 2000, resulting in a market value of C$1.85 billion.