Rogers, Shaw fail to persuade Commissioner of Competition on benefits of merger
Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B; NYSE: RCI) and Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX: SJR.B, NYSE: SJR, and TSXV: SJR.A) say that meetings with Canada's Commissioner of Competition on July 4 and July 5, 2022, failed to assuage the commissioner’s concerns about their proposed merger. The review process will continue and the two companies point out that they are free to reengage with the commissioner again regarding the proposed CAN$26 billion ($20.85 billion) transaction; the price includes approximately CAN$6 billion ($4.8 billion) of Shaw debt (see "Rogers, Shaw agree to merge").
The cable MSOs revealed in May that Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell planned to file objections to the merger on anti-competition grounds, with concerns about competition in the wireless space foremost in his mind (see “Rogers’ acquisition of Shaw hits Canadian regulatory snag”). The objections arose despite Rogers’ plans to sell Shaw’s Freedom Mobile assets; an agreement to sell Freedom Mobile to Canadian wireless services provider Quebecor at an enterprise value of CAN$2.85 billion ($2.20 billion) was reached last month.
“Rogers and Shaw intend to continue to work constructively with the Commissioner to highlight the many benefits of the merger to all Canadians, including maintaining a strong and sustainable fourth wireless carrier across Canada through the proposed divestiture of Freedom Wireless to Quebecor Inc.,” the companies said in a statement.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.