Rogers Communications’ $14.8bn Shaw deal wins Canada court approval

Bloomberg

Canada’s merger court ruled in favour of Rogers Communications Inc and Shaw Communications Inc in a key antitrust case, clearing one of the final hurdles to the union of two of the nation’s largest telecommunications firms.
The federal antitrust commissioner failed to prove that the deal would cause significant harm to competition in the industry, the Competition Tribunal said in a summary of its ruling. The merger of Rogers and Shaw is “not likely to result in materially higher prices” or a decline in service or innovation, the court found.
It’s a huge victory for the Canadian companies, concluding a seven-month legal process that has delayed the closing of the C$20 billion ($14.8 billion) transaction far past its original planned date. But the saga is not over yet. Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell could try to appeal the ruling, and even
if he doesn’t, the transaction still requires the approval
of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
“I am very disappointed that the Tribunal is dismissing our application to block the merger between Rogers and Shaw. We are carefully considering our next steps,” Boswell said in a statement.
Rogers and Shaw said they welcomed the decision and have agreed to extend the closing deadline to January 31. The firms had been hoping to close by the end of this year.
Rogers, Canada’s largest wireless company with more than 10 million phone customers, agreed to buy Shaw in March 2021 to bulk up its home internet and cable television businesses and add
key network infrastructure in Western Canada.
Post-acquisition, Rogers would have some C$20 billion in annual revenue, the kind of scale it says it needs to make 5G network investments and compete with rivals BCE Inc and Telus Corp.