Competition Tribunal paves way for merger after denying challenge to Rogers-Shaw combination

Competition Bureau “considering our next steps” By Ahmad Hathout OTTAWA – Canada’s competition court has dismissed an application by the Competition Bureau to block the merger between Rogers and Shaw, leaving only approval from Innovation Canada in the way of the blockbuster $26-billion deal. The deal involves the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile brand to Quebecor’s Videotron, which the competition commissioner had argued in his application was not satisfactory to allay competition concerns. But the tribunal did not agree, saying the deal’s components and compromises “are not likely to prevent or lessen competition substantially,” the Thursday decision said. In fact,...