TORONTO – Rogers Communications announced late Thursday that it has spent $75 million on voting shares of Cogeco Cable and Cogeco Inc.
Rogers Communications is acquiring the subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Cable (892,250 of them) at a cash purchase price, excluding commissions, of $43.98 per share, for aggregate consideration of $39.2 million. As for Cogeco Inc., Rogers has agreed to purchase 946,900 shares for $35.7 million.
Rogers already owns a large stake of the company’s voting and non-voting shares. The Cogeco Cable shares being acquired represent approximately 2.7% of the subordinate voting shares and after these purchases, Rogers will own 10,687,925 subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Cable representing approximately 32.5% of the subordinate voting shares and approximately 22% of the equity.
The Cogeco Inc. shares being acquired represent approximately 6.3% of the subordinate voting shares and after this deal, Rogers will own 5,969,390 subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Inc. representing approximately 39.9% of the subordinate voting shares and approximately 35.5% of the equity.
The Montreal-based cable TV and radio company is still controlled, however, by Henri Audet, father of CEO Louis Audet.
“RCI is acquiring the Cogeco Inc. shares and the Cogeco Cable Inc. shares for investment purposes,” reads the Rogers press release. “RCI has no current intention of acquiring ownership of or control or direction over any additional Cogeco Inc. or Cogeco Cable Inc. shares but reserves the right to acquire additional shares of Cogeco Inc. or Cogeco Cable Inc., to sell all or any portion of its holding of such shares or to enter into derivative or other transactions with respect to the shares owned by it.”
