Reuters, quoting an unnamed source cited by The Globe & Mail, reports that Canadian investment firm Globalive Capital has offered to buy Shaw Communications' Freedom Mobile division for CAD3.75 billion (USD2.9 billion), as Rogers Communications looks at options for offloading Freedom to gain regulatory clearance for its proposed takeover of Shaw. The report said that the all-cash offer for Freedom Mobile's cellular licences, customer accounts, cell towers and stores was presented to Rogers last week, adding that the deal would be financed by a group of investors led by Twin Point Capital and Baupost Group.

TeleGeography notes that Globalive Capital's founder and chairman Anthony Lacavera established Wind Mobile (later Freedom Mobile) in 2008, originally with financial backing from Egypt's Naguib Sawiris and subsequently partnering multinational telecoms group VimpelCom (now VEON), with Lacavera serving as chairman and CEO of the cellco until 2015. A partnership of Globalive Capital and Canadian/US investor consortium AAL Acquisitions Corp took full control of Wind in 2014 before the company was sold to Shaw in March 2016 for around CAD1.6 billion, with Shaw renaming its subsidiary as Freedom later that year.

Thanks to TeleGeography for this industry update.