Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Quebecor have entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of Freedom Mobile to Videotron, a subsidiary of Quebecor, subject to regulatory approvals and closing of the merger of Shaw and Rogers.
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With this Agreement, the new combined business of Videotron and Freedom will be well-positioned to launch a strong, competitive national 5G offering, using Videotron’s 3500 MHz holdings.
Accordingly, the parties believe the Rogers-Shaw Transaction should now be approved.
The Freedom Transaction is conditional on, among other things, clearance under the Competition Act and approval of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
It is also conditional on, and would close substantially concurrently with, closing of the Rogers-Shaw Transaction.
Rogers, Shaw and the Shaw Family Living Trust have agreed to extend the outside date of the Rogers-Shaw Transaction to December 31, 2022 (which outside date may be further extended to January 31, 2023 at the option of Rogers or Shaw, provided Rogers has committed financing available to complete the merger), demonstrating their commitment to completing this transformative combination.
The Rogers-Shaw Transaction, which would see Shaw merge with Rogers, has already been approved by the shareholders of Shaw and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, and remains subject to review by the Competition Tribunal and approval by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
The Commissioner of Competition has applied for an order of the Competition Tribunal that the parties not proceed with the Rogers-Shaw Transaction, and closing of the Rogers-Shaw Transaction is conditional on either agreement with the Commissioner of Competition or the Competition Tribunal disposing of the application on terms that allow the transaction to close. ■
Predominant upper-level ridging stretching from the Southwest to the southern High Plains will allow for another day of record-breaking heat across parts of Nevada and Arizona today.