Rogers-Shaw deal approved by Ottawa in blockbuster telecom merger – National | Globalnews.ca
Rogers Communications Inc.’s proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. will go ahead after it received the final sign-off it needed from Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.
The merger, a union between two Canadian telecom giants valued at $26 billion, including debt, has changed significantly in response to political and industry pressure since it was first announced in March 2021.
The final permutation of the merger will see Shaw sell its Freedom Mobile business and transfer wireless spectrum to Quebecor’s Videotron as the latter seeks to expand outside Quebec.
The industry minister said Friday his approval is subject to multiple conditions.
Champagne’s sign-off on Friday comes on the last day of the companies’ extended deadline for the deal to close.
The Competition Tribunal approved the deal on Dec. 30, 2022.
Read more:
Rogers-Shaw deal deadline pushed — again — as minister mulls final decision
The Competition Bureau had appealed the tribunal’s decision, citing what it claimed were legal errors in the judgment. But a Federal Court of Appeal judge ruled last month that the Bureau’s arguments did not meet the threshold needed to overturn the ruling.
The Bureau had lobbied against the merger, saying the transaction would hurt competition in the telecom industry in Canada.
The Competition Tribunal concluded that the merger was not likely to result in higher prices for wireless customers in Western Canada, and that the Tribunal was satisfied the plan to sell Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron was adequate to ensure competition isn’t substantially reduced.
Rogers and Shaw also argue that the deal would enhance competition and be better for consumers.
Shaw Communications and Corus Entertainment, the parent company of Global News, are owned by the Shaw family based in Calgary.
More coming
— with files from The Canadian Press
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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