Rogers-Shaw takeover: Expert says industry minister likely mulling optics of approval
BNN Bloomberg
Political optics is likely a factor Canada’s industry minister is considering as he mulls whether to approve Rogers Communications Inc.’s $20-billion acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc., according to an expert in business mergers.
The historic, drawn-out deal between the two telecommunications rivals has cleared its biggest legal hurdles, but the sale’s closing date has been extended multiple times, now to March 31, as it awaits final approval from Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
Aaron Glick, mergers specialist at Cowen and Company, said public attention on the “huge transaction” means that Champagne will want to ensure the agreement is “iron-clad” before making a decision, in order to minimize blowback from the public and his political rivals.
“He has to be careful how he orchestrates his approval here,” Glick said in a Monday television interview with BNN Bloomberg.
