CALGARY — Shaw Communications reported a dip in revenue and net income for the quarter that ended on November 30, possibly one of its final quarterly reports before being acquired by Rogers Communications.
The Calgary-based company reported a 1.2% decrease in revenue for its fiscal first quarter of 2023, to $1.37 billion, a decline in net income by 14.3% ($28 million) to $168 million, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declining 2.5% — all compared to the same period the previous year. Part of its pared down net income was due to transaction-related costs.
The telecom added a…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau will argue later this month that the Competition Tribunal erred in the steps it took when it determined that there would be no lessening of competition if Rogers is allowed to purchase Shaw.
In an amended appeal filed Friday, the competition commissioner, through the attorney general, said the tribunal navigated the primary question of whether such a merger would lessen competition incorrectly.
The commissioner said the tribunal incorrectly combined the analysis of both the Rogers-Shaw merger with the remedy sale of Shaw’s Freedom assets to Videotron, rather than first evaluating the competition questions for…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Canada’s largest independent internet service provider is urging federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to block the transfer of Shaw’s wireless spectrum assets to Videotron over concerns that the latter will receive favourable wholesale rates compared to competitors.
The Competition Tribunal earlier this month provided reasons for denying an application to block Rogers from purchasing Shaw, saying Videotron – the regional carrier that is lined up to buy Shaw’s Freedom Mobile as a condition of the deal’s approval – would be a strong competitor in the market and would take market share from the major players in…
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OTTAWA — The Federal Court of Appeal today decided it will hear on January 24 the Competition Bureau’s appeal of the decision by the Competition Tribunal to reject its challenge of the Rogers acquisition of Shaw.
The court and the parties in the matter landed on the date after a 1 hour and 15 minute case management conference today.
The bureau filed a court challenge the day after the tribunal released its decision on Thursday. It obtained the temporary emergency suspension of the decision until the Federal Court decides on the matter.
The tribunal released reasons for its determination…
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Federal Court of Appeal holding conference today on hearing issues
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – In approving the Rogers and Shaw combination, the Competition Tribunal said the evidence shows Freedom under Videotron “would not in fact have a smaller scale” as opposed to its ownership under Shaw.
“Videotron will have more revenue, more wireless subscribers across the country, and more spectrum,” the tribunal said in its reasons for approving the deal released yesterday, which follows its announced decision on Thursday night.
“In addition, Videotron’s national presence will give it the ability to offer new incentives to businesses that operate nationally,”…
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OTTAWA — The Competition Bureau said this evening that it has obtained from the Federal Court of Appeal a temporary suspension of the tribunal’s decision last week that denied its application to stop the merger between Rogers and Shaw.
The bureau filed an application in the Federal Court of Appeal seeking to have the decision reviewed, the day after the tribunal ruled within 15 days since the conclusion of hearings that a Videotron with Freedom mobile wireless assets would create competition in the market and that the Rogers-Shaw combination would not lessen it.
The bureau said in a…
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OTTAWA — The competition commissioner will appeal the decision by Competition Tribunal Thursday dismissing the watchdog’s application to block the merger between Rogers and Shaw.
The commissioner, which said the sale of Freedom to Quebecor was not a good enough concession for wireless competition in the country, said the office has filed a notice of appeal at the Federal Court of Appeal on Friday.
In a joint statement following the filing, Rogers and Shaw said they are “deeply disappointed” by the news.
“The Tribunal’s decision was the right one, and the Tribunal was clear in its summary that the transactions we have…
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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, the tribunal said it…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – A lawyer for Shaw Communications argued before the Competition Tribunal today that the competition commissioner “exaggerated” Freedom’s success during testimony, saying Shaw’s wireless subsidiary was over the last five years hobbled by market competition and federal government pricing promises.
The thesis of Kent Thomson’s argument today was that Shaw could not and cannot compete in today’s market, hence why it must combine with Rogers. Thomson noted that Telus, Shaw’s west coast rival, has greatly outspent the Calgary-based company by $7 billion over the last handful of years.
In pushing against suggestions that Shaw and Freedom have successfully…
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WHITEHORSE and YELLOWKNIFE — Bell subsidiary Northwestel announced today it has marked the completion of its 2022 fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) projects with community celebrations in Burwash Landing and Haines Junction, Yukon — two of 17 communities in Yukon and Northwest Territories (NWT) that received FTTH service this year through Northwestel’s Every Community Project.
“Over 80% of Yukon and NWT homes now have access to unlimited high-speed Internet that meets or exceeds the CRTC’s universal service objective of 50/10 Mbps unlimited service,” reads a press release. “The majority have access to the North’s fastest home Internet, up to…
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