Rogers-Shaw deal heads to Competition Tribunal for mediation

Canada’s Competition Tribunal has scheduled in late October a mediation between Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and the agency for the C$20 billion merger of the telecom firms.

The mediation, which is expected to overcome the agency’s anti-trust issues, will be a confidential process, the tribunal said in an Oct. 14 filing put out on Monday.

There will be no obligation on the parties to pursue the mediation process to a successful resolution, according to the tribunal rules on mediation.

The move could pave the way for a settlement and avoid a protracted legal battle in the Competition Tribunal, which decides the fate of contested deals.

In March, Canada’s anti-trust authority had stalled the acquisition of Shaw by Rogers Communications on the grounds that the deal would reduce competition in the Canadian telecom market.

Rogers-Shaw had agreed to sell Freedom mobile to Montreal-based Quebecor as a remedy for the merger.

As part of the mediation process all the parties will work towards coming to a consent agreement that would list down the various remedies that Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor will have to present for the deal to clear.