OTTAWA — Canada’s competition bureau said on Friday it needs more time to investigate the proposed sale of Shaw Communications Inc’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.
Information about the sale of Freedom that the bureau currently has does not address antitrust issues posed by Rogers Communications Inc’s C$20 billion ($15.5 billion) acquisition of Shaw, the competition watchdog said in a statement.
Matthew Boswell, Commissioner of Competition, Canada, said in a court filing that the bureau is “seeking only a limited extension” in the spirit of expediting its application in the competition tribunal. It has asked at least six weeks extension to the entire hearing.
It was unclear whether the tribunal would accept the competition bureau’s request. The tribunal did not reply to a request for comment.
The antitrust bureau has blocked Rogers’ proposed takeover of Shaw arguing it would lessen competition in a country where consumers pay among the highest telecoms bills in the world. The deal, announced in March 2021, is due to expire this month, though both Rogers and Shaw can agree to extend the closure date, according to company filings.
Rogers has offered to sell Freedom Mobile as a concession, but the competition bureau said that it does not currently have sufficient information and “first hand evidence” about Quebecor’s unit Videotron’s experience of competing in Canada’s key provinces and how it plans to compete without the help of Rogers.
The bureau said it is also requesting Canada’s competition tribunal to question Videotron over the buyout of Freedom Mobile, since the company did not demonstrate how it plans to uphold competition in Canada.
The parties failed to reach a solution during this month’s mediation, and talks are expected to continue next month, before a formal hearing of the case starts in the tribunal in November. For a story on how the legal battle will play out:
Shaw shares briefly turned negative on the news, but were trading up 0.6% at C$34.65, a 14.4% discount to Rogers offer price reflecting the deal uncertainty. Rogers shares were up 0.3%.
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