Rogers vowed to pursue its purchase of Shaw, commenting that the pair will work together to ‘highlight the many benefits of the merger’
After two days of mediations with Canada’s Commissioner of Competition, Canadian telco Rogers Communications failed to negotiate its way to acquiring Shaw Communications, an intention first announced in March 2021 to the tune of nearly $16 billion. However, the proposal was quickly met with opposition from Canadian government.
Citing market competition worries — or lack thereof, to be precise — Canada’s competition bureau put the purchase on hold. In a move to overcome these concerns, Shaw last month agreed to sell Freedom Mobile, the cellular business owned by Shaw, to Montreal-based Quebecor for CAD2.85 billion ($2.20 billion).
But apparently that wasn’t enough. According to Reuters, the bureau stated that the sale of Freedom Mobile would be insufficient to bolster competition in the Canadian mobile telephony market.
Despite the setback this week, Rogers vowed to pursue its purchase of Shaw, commenting that the results of the mediation did not prevent the operators “from continuing discussions with the Commissioner at any time” and that the pair will work together to “highlight the many benefits of the merger.”
The transaction has already been approved by the shareholders of Shaw and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved Rogers’ acquisition of Shaw’s broadcasting services, subject to conditions and safeguards designed to ensure that the transaction benefits Canadians.
