Canadian Minister Opposes Wholesale Transfer of Shaw’s Wireless Licences to Rogers

Canada’s industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, on Thursday said he will not permit the wholesale transfer of Shaw Communications Inc’s wireless licences to Rogers Communications Inc as part of a buyout bid for Shaw.

“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,” François–Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, said.

The deal announced in March to create Canada’s second-largest cellular and cable operator has attracted regulatory scrutiny.

(Reuters)