Canada to Approve Rogers Communications Takeover of Shaw

(Bloomberg) — The Canadian government will allow Rogers Communications Inc. to acquire rival Shaw Communications Inc., ending a two-year fight over one of the biggest corporate takeovers in the country’s history. 

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne will announce a number of measures to improve competitiveness in the telecommunications sector at a news conference on Friday morning in Ottawa. In the process, he’ll approve Quebecor Inc.’s deal to buy most of Shaw’s wireless business, according to a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity. That’s the final step Rogers needed to complete the Shaw transaction. 

The proposed C$20 billion ($14.8 billion) deal had cleared all legal hurdles except for Champagne’s ruling. Representatives for Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor couldn’t be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Champagne declined to comment. Earlier Thursday evening, the government sent out an advisory that the minister would speak at 8:30 a.m. Ottawa time. 

Shaw shares rose 0.6% on Thursday to C$39.16, still more than C$1 below the Rogers offer of C$40.50 a share. Rogers shares rose 1.5%. 

While analysts have widely expected that the union of two of the nation’s largest telecommunications firms will prevail, Champagne has said on several occasions that he is pushing the companies for binding commitments that will improve service and prices.

The two firms announced the friendly takeover in March 2021, saying they hoped to close it in mid-2022. That date has been delayed several times as the deal was challenged in court unsuccessfully by Canada’s antitrust watchdog. 

As part of their efforts to win approval, Rogers and Shaw made a separate agreement last year to sell Shaw’s Freedom Mobile division to Quebecor for almost C$3 billion.

(Updates with further information, response from companies and minister’s officer)