The Competition Tribunal on Thursday evening rejected a request from the Competition Bureau opposing the merger of telecommunications giants Shaw and Rogers, thus paving the way for the merger of the two companies.
• Read also: Services for the visually impaired: Bell targeted by a complaint
The organization considers that the agreements and arrangements provided for in the merger, including the sale of Freedom Mobile to Videotron, “will not likely have the effect of preventing or substantially lessening competition” in the field of telecommunications in Canada.
“That is, they are unlikely to have the effect of causing prices to increase materially over those that would likely be displayed absent the arrangement,” the court continued in a briefing note.
The court thus removes an obstacle from the path of Rogers, which is trying to get its hands on Shaw for $26 billion. The plan also provides for the sale of Freedom Mobile, a wireless telecommunications provider in Western Canada, to Quebecor, which could eventually allow its Videotron subsidiary to become a national player in the industry, alongside Bell, Rogers and Telus.
However, the transaction must still obtain the green light from the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne. The latter had rejected, last October, the merger project as currently proposed, in particular by imposing additional conditions for the acquisition of Freedom Mobile by Quebecor.
