diff --git a/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/basic_composer.js b/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/basic_composer.js
index 03ffd1c7a30..b88d7f6b0d9 100644
--- a/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/basic_composer.js
+++ b/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/basic_composer.js
@@ -416,6 +416,7 @@ var BasicComposer = Widget.extend({
             attachment_ids: _.pluck(this.get('attachment_ids'), 'id'),
             partner_ids: _.uniq(_.pluck(this._mentionManager.getListenerSelection('@'), 'id')),
             canned_response_ids: _.uniq(_.pluck(this._mentionManager.getListenerSelections()[':'], 'id')),
+            channel_ids: _.uniq(_.pluck(this._mentionManager.getListenerSelection('#'), 'id')),
             command: commands.length > 0 ? commands[0].name : undefined,
         });
     },
diff --git a/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/mention_manager.js b/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/mention_manager.js
index 44506046ec8..6cbaab5002a 100644
--- a/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/mention_manager.js
+++ b/addons/mail/static/src/js/composers/mention_manager.js
@@ -52,10 +52,8 @@ var MentionManager = Widget.extend({
     getListenerSelection: function (delimiter) {
         var listener = _.findWhere(this._listeners, { delimiter: delimiter });
         if (listener) {
-            var inputMentions = this._composer
-                                    .$input
-                                    .val()
-                                    .match(new RegExp(delimiter+'[^ ]+(?= | )', 'g'));
+            var escapedVal = _.escape(this._composer.$input.val());
+            var inputMentions = escapedVal.match(new RegExp(delimiter+'[^ ]+(?= | )', 'g'));
             return this._validateSelection(listener.selection, inputMentions);
         }
         return [];
@@ -315,7 +313,10 @@ var MentionManager = Widget.extend({
         }
         if (suggestions.length) {
             this.$el.html(QWeb.render(this._activeListener.suggestionTemplate, {
-                suggestions: suggestions,
+                suggestions: _.map(suggestions, function (suggestion) {
+                    // mention manager stores escaped suggestion names
+                    return _.extend({}, suggestion, { name: _.unescape(suggestion.name) });
+                })
             }));
             this.$el
                 .addClass('show')
@@ -384,8 +385,9 @@ var MentionManager = Widget.extend({
         if (!substitution) {
             // no substitution string given, so use the mention name instead
             // replace white spaces with non-breaking spaces to facilitate
-            // mentions detection in text
-            selectedSuggestion.name = selectedSuggestion.name.replace(/ /g, NON_BREAKING_SPACE);
+            // mentions detection in text.
+            // mention manager stores escaped suggestion names
+            selectedSuggestion.name = _.unescape(selectedSuggestion.name.replace(/ /g, NON_BREAKING_SPACE));
             substitution = this._activeListener.delimiter + selectedSuggestion.name;
         }
         var getMentionIndex = function (matches, cursorPosition) {
diff --git a/addons/mail/static/src/js/models/threads/thread.js b/addons/mail/static/src/js/models/threads/thread.js
index 068e69b9c32..8c622779bb3 100644
--- a/addons/mail/static/src/js/models/threads/thread.js
+++ b/addons/mail/static/src/js/models/threads/thread.js
@@ -344,6 +344,9 @@ var Thread = AbstractThread.extend(ServicesMixin, {
         body = this._generateEmojis(body);
         var messageData = {
             partner_ids: data.partner_ids,
+            channel_ids: _.map(data.channel_ids, function (channelID) {
+               return [4, channelID, false];
+            }),
             body: body,
             attachment_ids: data.attachment_ids,
             canned_response_ids: data.canned_response_ids,