(Translation of an original PlanHub article)
After 7 months of litigation, Shaw’s buyout has finally been approved, but the fight continues for opponents.
Image Credit: PlanHub
It’s official, the buyout of Shaw by Rogers has been approved by the FTC, which was unable to prove the monopoly arising from this acquisition. The effects of this announcement were immediately felt on the stock market where Shaw’s share took 9% against 6% for Rogers.
It took 7 long months for this acquisition to materialize. The marriage of a giant like Rogers and an operator of the importance of Shaw quickly worried the competition, starting with Videotron, which multiplied the complaints and brought the case before the FTC for antitrust. In the end, Videotron’s actions only delayed the acquisition, which allowed Rogers to strengthen its position in accessible subscriptions.
A buyout is still on the chopping block
Rogers is still a dominant player in Canada with more than 10 million subscriptions to its cell phone services, and the arrival of Shaw should strengthen its position. However, to buy Shaw, Rogers already had to divest itself of Freedom Mobile, which it sold to Videotron for $2.85 billion.
Despite this victory for Rogers, the Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell remains opposed to the acquisition and is already considering his next steps. It must be said that even if the FTC has finally given its approval, the final approval remains in the hands of the government and more particularly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The government is expected to consider the matter in early 2023.
