Reactions to Canadas Rogers-Shaw deal approval

(Reuters) – Canada on Friday approved Rogers Communications Incs C$20 billion buyout of Shaw Communications after securing commitments to promote competition in a country with some of the highest wireless bills in the world.

Below are reactions to the news of the approval for a deal that was announced in March 2021:

ROSA ADDARIO, SPOKESPERSON, INTERNET ADVOCACY GROUP OPENMEDIA

“Videotron is already a carrier in Canada. We already have that as a provider and in no way does selling one company to the biggest telecom giant in Canada bring cheaper prices or more competition for people in Canada. This is undoubtedly going to harm our competition, our choice and will make our bills more expensive.”

“The fact of the matter is any way you slice it, this deal is bad for Canadians. Its as bad for us as it was when it was initially proposed and Minister Champagne has stepped out of the way essentially to allow it to go through.”

JOHN LAWFORD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CANADIAN ADVOCACY GROUP PUBLIC INTEREST ADVOCACY CENTRE

“The announcement entrenches the present Canadian wireless market structure for the next decade. Canadian consumers can take count on paying for their number one position in wireless service costs in the major economies for the foreseeable future.”

MATTHEW DOLGIN, ANALYST AT MORNINGSTAR

“There‘s nothing too much in the requirements that are surprising. Many of the requirements of Rogers are things the company already announced it would do when it announced the merger. This just holds them to it. But it doesn’t change our view of what the merger means to Rogers.”

MICHAEL OSBORNE, A COMPETITION LAWYER AT LAW FIRM COZEN OCONNOR

“This is an unprecedented agreement that I hope remains exceptional. The circumstances in which it is appropriate to do this are incredibly rare.”

“Imagine there is an another case where the minister decides he‘s kind of feeling his oats and says I want to start regulating all these things, I don’t trust the competition bureau to get it right. Im going to start politically interfering in mergers.”

SHAW SHAREHOLDER RYAN BUSHELL, PRESIDENT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER AT NEWHAVEN ASSET MANAGEMENT

“I‘m not surprised that they are forcing more concessions out of Rogers and I’ll be interested to see now where the Roger share price goes in the next year or two as they digest this – they‘re going to have to take on some debt, there will be integration challenges but also synergies. I’ll be interested if we can get it a little lower than it is today.”

Analysts at national bank of canada financial markets research

“It took two years plus two weeks, two days, and nearly two hours for the last regulatory approval to come after Rogers and Shaw first announced their initial arrangement at 7 A.M. on March 15, 2021.”

“Well first need to see how Rogers steps into Shaw and Quebecor into Freedom as well as outside of Quebec before necessarily anticipating more aggressive moves by ISED (Innovation, Science and Economic Department).”

(Compiled by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru)