Canada gives final nod on C$20 billion Rogers-Shaw merger

(Reuters) – Canada on Friday gave the final approval for Rogers Communications Inc’s C$20 billion ($15 billion) buyout of Shaw Communications Inc, clearing the deal that will create the country’s No. 2 telecoms company.

The green light came as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne agreed to the transfer of wireless licenses held by Shaw’s Freedom Mobile unit to Quebecor Inc under some conditions.

Here is the snapshot of key events in Rogers-Shaw merger:

Date Development

March 15, Rogers Communications says it will buy Shaw for

2021 about C$20 billion ($16.02 billion)

Aug. 5, 2021 The Canadian regulator starts to look into the

bid and obtains court orders to advance its

review

Jan. 10, Rogers appoints insider and industry veteran

2022 Tony Staffieri as president and CEO to lead the

company through Shaw’s acquisition

May 9, 2022 Canada’s antitrust agency seeks to block

Rogers-Shaw $16 billion merger

May 30, 2022 Rogers agrees with Canada’s competition bureau

to put Shaw merger on hold

June 3, 2022 Rogers asks tribunal to scrap the competition

bureau’s rejection, argues the merger will

create more competition rather than stifle it

June 17, Antitrust regulator says it remains opposed to

2022 Rogers plan to buy Shaw

June 18, Quebecor agrees to buy Shaw unit Freedom Mobile

2022 for an enterprise value of C$2.85 bln ($2.19

bln) to allay anti-competition concerns

June 24, Canada’s Rogers, Shaw and competition watchdog

2022 agree to start mediation

July 6, 2022 Rogers says talks to discuss possible remedies

to the blocked takeover of Shaw did not result

in a resolution

July 22, Canada’s antitrust agency says needs more time

2022 to investigate concession offered by Rogers

July 27, Rogers extends deadline to close the buyout

2022

Aug. 12, Rogers and Shaw finalize agreement to sell

2022 Freedom Mobile to Videotron, a unit of Quebecor

Oct. 28, Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor fail to mediate their

2022 differences with Canada’s competition bureau

over the bid

Dec. 30, Canada’s competition tribunal approves Rogers

2022 bid for Shaw

A Federal Court put a

Jan. 3, 2023 stay

on the Rogers-Shaw merger

following a request from Canada’s Competition

Bureau after antitrust tribunal’s approval

Rogers says the merger has been

Jan. 17, delayed

2023 long enough and must be allowed to

proceed despite the competition bureau’s

opposition

A Canadian court

Jan. 24, dismisses

2023 the competition bureau’s effort to

overturn the merger approval by Canada’s

antitrust tribunal

Canada’s Competition Bureau

Jan. 25, drops

2023 plans to kill the deal following

two defeats in courts in less than a month

Rogers and Shaw

Jan. 30, extend

2023 deadline for their C$20 billion

($15.01 billion) merger to Feb. 17 from January

end awaiting government approval

Rogers

Feb. 17, further

2023 extends the deadline for the

merger with Shaw for the fourth time to March

31

Canada grants the

March 31, final

2023 approval for Rogers buyout of

Shaw, paving the way for the creation of the

country’s No. 2 telecoms company

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik, Aditya Soni, Tiyashi Datta and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur)