OTTAWA and CALGARY – Shaw is now Canada’s largest cable company after receiving CRTC approval to proceed with its purchase of Mountain Cablevision.
As reported by Cartt.ca, Shaw offered to buy the Hamilton-based BDU back in July. Rogers tried to block the acquisition citing a near decade-old non-compete arrangement it had with Shaw, but that argument was dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court last month.
The Commission officially approved Shaw’s application on Thursday, meaning that Mountain’s ownership and control will be changed to 1474888 Alberta Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shaw Communications Inc. Approximately 135 employees, 41,000 cable customers, 29,000 Internet subscribers, and 30,000 digital phone lines will be folded in to Shaw as part of the deal.
"We’re excited to welcome the Mountain Cablevision employees to the Shaw team," said Shaw president Peter Bissonnette, in a statement on Friday. "Our people are at the heart of everything we do at Shaw. We are all partners in this new venture and look forward to growing the Hamilton business together with a dedicated focus on the customer experience. Customers can expect the same great products and same great people under the Shaw name."
Shaw said in its CRTC application that it plans to expand Mountain’s range of broadcast services, and increase the speed, range and quality of its Internet and telephony services. It also pledged to expand the cable plant into smaller areas not currently served within Mountain’s serving territories.
