Anthony Lacavera calls on Ottawa to reject the sale of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor — via financialpost Telecom
Rogers showed little interest in dealing with Globalive, announcing on June 17 that it intended to sell Freedom to Quebecor, the dominant telecommunications player in Quebec, but a bit player anywhere else. The purchase price was much lower than the $3.5 to $4 billion analysts were expecting after the Competition Bureau rejected an earlier “remedy” proposed by Rogers and Shaw.
Lacavera said he’s been spurned by Rogers, despite offering $900 million more than Quebecor is paying. “The point of our letter is Rogers just continues to try and end-run the regulatory process and the weakest competitor possible in Ontario, B.C., and Alberta,” Lacavera said. “I’m going to keep going the government, and I’m going to keep making sure the government is clear on what our offer really is.”
“Our March 11 offer made clear that we would willingly acquire more than just the Freedom Mobile business should the merger approval require it,” Lacavera wrote. “This was an important element of our offer since, like you, we have always held the view that the divestiture of the Freedom Mobile alone was unlikely to adequately address the anti-competitive effects resulting from the merger.”