By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Just over a week before the transaction deadline, Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said Tuesday that the company believes Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has all the information he needs to make a decision on the company’s proposed purchase of Shaw.
Two weeks ago, Staffieri said at a Scotiabank event that the minister had been asking the company to provide additional information about the transaction and said the company has been actively providing material to the minister, who holds the final say in whether to allow the transfer of Shaw’s Freedom to Videotron required to trigger the Shaw acquisition.
Now, “we believe the minister has everything he needs to make a decision and we await his decision,” Staffieri said at a Desjardins event Tuesday.
The companies involved in the transaction have agreed to postpone the closing date of their deals numerous times, the latest being to next Friday.
Last week, The Globe and Mail reported that Quebecor was working with the federal government on the details of its pledge to lower wireless prices and its commitment to owning Freedom’s assets for at least 10 years.
Last month, four days before the last transaction closing date to which the companies agreed to, Champagne said during a House committee hearing that he wasn’t near a decision on the spectrum transfer. Just before he said that, he told Conservative member of Parliament Ryan Williams that “you’ll be pleased” when the MP expressed skepticism about the enforceability of those commitments.
Staffieri said over the past year, the company has been refining its strategy in preparation for the Shaw acquisition. Chief financial officer Glenn Brandt said Tuesday that the company has been beefing up its customer service strategy ahead of the buy, including investing in more call centres and having more representatives in stores.
Screenshot of Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri, middle, at the Scotiabank event earlier this month.
