Canada's Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications issued a joint statement on Monday stating that they have agreed to postpone closure of their proposed CAD26 billion (USD20 billion) merger in order to resolve objections by the Competition Bureau, which filed court applications on 9 May to prevent the consolidation of two of the country's largest telecoms companies 'to protect Canadians from higher prices, poorer service quality and fewer choices.'

Rogers and Shaw disclosed that they have resolved 'to not proceed with closing their proposed merger until either a negotiated settlement is agreed with the Commissioner of Competition or the Competition Tribunal has ruled on the matter,' adding that, as a result 'there is no need for the Tribunal to hear the Commissioner's application for an interim injunction.'

Rogers and Shaw are engaged in a process to fully divest Shaw's mobile subsidiary Freedom Mobile to satisfy competition concerns, and the pair say the latest agreement with the Commissioner 'allows the parties to focus on addressing the Commissioner's concerns with the transaction in order to reach a settlement.' If a Tribunal hearing is ultimately required to address the Commissioner's application, Rogers and Shaw intend to oppose it. An expedited schedule of that application is expected to be set soon.

Thanks to TeleGeography for this industry update.