TORONTO and MONTREAL — Rogers and Videotron announced Monday that they have closed their respective purchases of Shaw and Freedom, after the innovation minister blessed the mega-merger on Friday.
The parties agreed to a deadline of April 7 to close following the go-ahead decision by Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Friday that put commitments from the companies into legally-binding contracts for a period of 10 years. Those commitments include billions of dollars in investments from Rogers and Videotron providing lower prices compared to the large players outside of Quebec.
“This is a momentous day for our customers, who will benefit from the latest services and network technology, and for our teams, who have worked so hard to get us here,” Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers, said in a release. “We’re proud to bring together these two iconic companies to deliver more value, more connectivity, and more innovation for Canadians.”
Among its commitments, Rogers said it will reduce the price of Rogers’s 5G wireless data by 30 per cent over the next three years.
Videotron said it plans to use its VMedia purchase to offer Canadians in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario with bundles on wireless, internet and television services “within the next few months.”
“Joining Videotron’s track record of success in Quebec with Freedom’s highly skilled teams will bring our customers the benefit of our combined expertise and our unwavering customer-centric focus,” Pierre Karl Peladeau, CEO of Videotron parent Quebecor, said in a release. “Finally, we also want to thank Shaw and Rogers for their ready cooperation throughout this process, which is so important to Canada’s economic future.”
