After two extended deadlines, numerous legal hurdles and a flurry of criticism, Shaw’s acquisition by Rogers has been completed for a historic C$26 billion. Has agreed to,
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the final ruling at a press conference in Ottawa today, announcing a total of 21 legally binding terms with Rogers and Videotron to ensure greater competition in the telecommunications sector.
“The establishment of an effective national fourth player that can compete and drive down prices has been a goal of successive governments for decades. Today’s announcement allows for the first time in Canadian history to establish that national fourth player,” he said. Said.
Some conditions include:
– Establishment of Rogers headquarters and creation of 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada, to be maintained for a minimum of 10 years.
Rogers to invest $5.5 billion to expand 5G coverage and additional network services
Rogers to invest C$1 billion to connect rural, remote and indigenous communities
– Ensure that Freedom Mobile’s plans will be at least 20 percent more affordable than equivalent plans offered by existing carriers in the British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario markets.
– Freedom to invest over $150 million to upgrade its infrastructure
Rogers and Videotron would pay financial damages of $1 billion and $200 million, respectively, if either of them breached the commitments.
Champagne also announced a moratorium on large-scale spectrum transfers and directed ISED to begin a comprehensive review of Canada’s spectrum transfer framework.
background
The merger was initially announced in March 2021, but faced several hurdles, most notably from the Competition Bureau, over concerns of increased wireless services prices and reduced competition.
To address these concerns, Shaw announced the $2.85 billion sale of his wireless carrier company Freedom Mobile to Videotron, a subsidiary of Quebecor, in August 2022.
Not without enthusiasm, the competition watchdog took the merging parties to the Competition Tribunal and the Federal Court of Appeal, but failed to block the merger, leaving the final decision in Champagne’s hands.
As he contemplated the largest merger in Canadian telecommunications, the transaction’s closing date was postponed twice, to ensure that the deadline was not met, even though the financing remained in place, costing Rogers millions of dollars. Had to spend
