Rogers M&A bond consent gains traction as creditor challenge fizzles
BNN Bloomberg
Rogers’ request to extend a deadline to buy back US$9.35 billion of bonds may succeed as a challenge from members of an investor group appears to lack the support needed to derail it.
The Toronto-based cable and wireless firm is seeking approval from creditors holding eight series of bonds in dollars and loonies to extend the deadline to complete its acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. to December 2023. Under the current terms, Rogers has to repay the securities at 101 cents on the dollar if the $20 billion (US$15.4 billion) deal isn’t done by the end of this year.
The investor group holding US dollar-denominated securities wasn’t big enough to create a block in any series of notes, according to an emailed statement sent by bankers at Houlihan Lokey Inc. on Friday. On Thursday, the Credit Roundtable, an industry group representing investors, held a call with its members along with Houlihan and lawyers at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
The Rogers purchase of Shaw has been delayed by Canada’s antitrust regulator, which has sued to block it, arguing that it will damage competition in a telecommunications sector that’s already dominated by a handful of large companies. Rogers and Shaw have agreed to sell most of Shaw’s wireless business to Quebecor Inc. to address those concerns, but the case appears headed to a hearing at the Competition Tribunal, Canada’s merger court.
