Competition Bureau to Appeal Tribunal’s Decision to Allow Rogers’ Takeover of Shaw

A woman holds two cellphones in this photo illustration, March 29, 2021 in Chelsea, Que. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The Competition Bureau is appealing the Competition Tribunal’s dismissal of its case against Rogers Communications Inc.’s $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., the agency said Friday.

The telecom companies said Friday that they were informed of the bureau’s intent to appeal the Tribunal’s decision, released late Thursday, as well as that the bureau will apply for an injunction to block the deal from closing until an appeal is heard.

“We are deeply disappointed that the Commissioner continues to attempt to deny Canada and Canadians the advantages that will come from these proposed transactions,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The Competition Bureau confirmed its appeal Friday via email and Twitter, and said it won’t be issuing a formal statement at this time, but said there would be more updates in the coming days.

Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell said in a statement late Thursday that he was very disappointed at the Tribunal’s dismissal and was carefully considering next steps.

The Competition Tribunal issued only a summary of the decision, with plans to release the full text by late Saturday, concluding that the merger was not likely to result in higher prices for wireless customers in Western Canada, and that the Tribunal was satisfied the plan to sell Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron was adequate to ensure competition isn’t substantially reduced.

The decision clears a path for the deal to go ahead, requiring only approval from federal Industry Minster François-Philippe Champagne.

“We are pleased with the favourable decision,” said Rogers and Shaw in a joint statement earlier Friday. “We look forward to reviewing the details of the decision and working with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry so we can clear the final regulatory hurdle to close these transactions.”

Minister Champagne’s spokesperson Laurie Bouchard said they will review the decision in detail and will have more to say in due course, while opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said at a news conference that he has serious concerns about more consolidation in the telecoms sector.

Rogers and Shaw thanked the Tribunal for its swift decision, as they had set a closing date for the deal of Dec. 31 and face additional payments to bondholders if it went beyond that, but they said Friday they had extended the close to Jan. 31, 2023.