Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says last week’s massive outage at Rogers Communications Inc. will be on his mind as he weighs the telecom provider’s proposed $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc.
The Rogers-Shaw transaction already has approval from shareholders and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, but still needs approval from the Competition Bureau as well as Champagne’s department Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Champagne says Friday’s outage, which left more than 12 million Canadians without service, is “going to be on the mind of the different people who need to make a decision.”
His comments come the same day as the deadline for Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor Inc. to reach a definitive agreement on the sale of wireless carrier Freedom Mobile.
Last month, Rogers announced that it would sell Freedom to Quebecor for $2.85 billion in a deal it hopes will appease federal regulators opposed to its proposed takeover of Shaw.
Champagne says he can’t comment on the merits of that proposal but says Canadians want more affordability when it comes to wireless services, and the way to get more affordability is through competition.