Rogers, Shaw merger will result in competition, Shaw CEO tells committee

COGECO

29/03/2021 17:12

By Moira Warburton
    VANCOUVER, March 29 (Reuters) - The merger of Rogers
Communications Inc  RCIb.TO  and Shaw Communications Inc
 SJRb.TO  would result in sufficient market competition, Shaw's
chief executive said on Monday, as a Canadian parliamentary
committee grilled the telecom firms'  officials on anti-trust
aspects of the deal.
    Rogers agreed to buy Shaw  SJRb.TO  in a C$20 billion ($16
billion) deal that would create Canada's second-largest cellular
and cable operator. But the Canadian government was quick to say
it would attract stiff regulatory scrutiny.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2LD308
    "I truly believe that these two companies coming together
and the investments that are going to be made, there will be as
much competition in the future as there was in the past," Shaw
CEO Brad Shaw told a parliamentary committee in a livestreamed
hearing.
    The deal represents Rogers' second attempt in less than six
months to consolidate Canada's concentrated telecoms market,
where the top three operators control about 90% of the C$53.1
billion market. Rogers' effort to buy Cogeco Inc's  CGO.TO  
Canadian assets was rebuffed by Cogeco's top shareholder in
September.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2FZ343
    Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal
government ordered Canada's top three telecom operators to cut
prices on their mid-range wireless service plans by 25% within
two years or face regulatory action.
    
    

 (Reporting by Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Editing by Dan
Grebler)
 ((Moira.Warburton@thomsonreuters.com; 416-687-7996;
437-771-3124;))