Rogers is meeting with prospective Freedom Mobile buyers, but Québecor isn’t on the table

Discussions to sell Freedom Mobile have begun, the Globe and Mail reports.

It’s a vital aspect to complete the merger of Rogers and Shaw. Discussions on the merger began a year ago, but the fate of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile didn’t become clear until recently.

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne said earlier this month he won’t allow Shaw to transfer its wireless licenses to Rogers because it won’t help the government’s attempts to create new competition.

“The wholesale transfer of Shaw’s wireless licences to Rogers is fundamentally incompatible with our government’s policies for spectrum and mobile service competition, and I will simply not permit it,” he said in a statement.

Rogers needs to sell Freedom Mobile for the deal to close. According to the Globe and Mail, Rogers will have to convince the government the company’s new owner can compete with the country’s three largest carriers.

The Globe and Mail reports Rogers had initiated conversations with prospective buyers. While the publication has not released the names of these companies, it made clear Québecor is not one of the players. The company’s subsidiary, Vidéotron, expressed interest in acquiring Freedom Mobile.

Québecor released several statements since it became clear Shaw will have to sell Freedom Mobile. “We are pleased to see that the Committee’s members agree that we need real competition in wireless and that a strong independent fourth player would benefit Canadians,” Pierre Karl Péladeau, Québecor’s president and CEO,  said shortly after Minister Champagne made his comments. 

Source: Globe and Mail