Freedom Mobile sale not enough to allow Rogers-Shaw deal: Competition Bureau filing
BNN Bloomberg
Plans by Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. to sell Shaw's wireless businessdo not outweigh the harm that the companies' proposed merger would cause, the Competition Bureau has argued in court documents.
In May 9 filings to the Competition Tribunal, the regulator says the sale of Freedom Mobile would not add competition to the telecom sector because the new owners "are likely to provide less effective financial, managerial, technical or other support," making it harder for the carrier to go up against Rogers, BCE Inc. and Telus Communications Inc.
Rogers and Shaw have said that the sale of Shaw's Freedom Mobile, expected to be a condition of the proposed deal's approval by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, is the best way to maintain competition in the wireless space while allowing the merger, first announced in March 2021, to move forward.
Freedom Mobile founder Anthony Lacavera and Quebecor Inc. have expressed interest in the carrier. Meanwhile, rural internet provider Xplornet Communications Inc. has reportedly been presented to regulators as a potential buyer.
