|
The Friday announcement from Rogers and Shaw comes after the
companies set a Feb. 17 deadline last month as a long-drawn
battle for approval with the country's competition bureau came
to an end.
The antitrust tribunal approved the deal in December and a
Canadian court later dismissed the competition bureau's efforts
to overturn the approval.
The deal to create Canada's No. 2 telecoms company had triggered
concerns of lessening competition in a country where wireless
bills are already among the highest in the world.
To alleviate the antitrust issues, Rogers-Shaw agreed to sell
Freedom Mobile, a wireless business owned by Shaw, to Quebecor
Inc. The C$2.85 billion ($2.11 billion) sale is now expected to
close by March 31, the companies said.
Champagne, whose approval is needed for the transfer of spectrum
licenses held by Shaw's Freedom Mobile unit to Quebecor's
Videotron, has previously indicated support for the deal if
certain conditions were met.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, which
Champagne heads, did not immediately respond to a Reuters
request for comment.
Separately, Shaw on Friday announced a monthly dividend and
suspended its dividend reinvestment plan.
Shaw also said it had received an extension from the Toronto
Stock Exchange and an order from the Alberta Court of King's
Bench to hold its 2023 annual general meeting by no later than
May 31.
"If the Rogers-Shaw merger has not closed by such time, the
company expects to hold its 2023 annual general meeting near the
end of May," Shaw said in a statement.
($1 = 1.3534 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva
and Devika Syamnath)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
