Industry minister suggests Rogers outage could weigh on $26B Shaw deal
BNN Bloomberg
Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says last week's massive outage at Rogers Communications will be on his mind as he weighs the telecom provider's proposed $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications.
The Rogers-Shaw transaction already has approval from shareholders and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, but still needs approval from the Competition Bureau as well as Champagne's department Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Champagne says Friday's outage, which left more than 12 million Canadians without service, is "going to be on the mind of the different people who need to make a decision."
His comments come the same day as the deadline for Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor Inc. to reach a definitive agreement on the sale of wireless carrier Freedom Mobile.
