Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor extend deadline to close merger deal, again

Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor extend deadline to close merger deal, again
business

The companies involved in the Rogers Communications Inc. the deal to buy Shaw Communications has extended the deadline to complete the transaction until the middle of February

Companies now say they hope to finalize a massive telecom transaction by Feb 17th

Rogers is trying to buy Shaw in what would be, if it’s completed, the biggest merger in Canadian telecom history. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

The companies involved in the Rogers Communications Inc. deal to buy Shaw Communications has extended the deadline to complete the transaction.

Rogers, Shaw, the Shaw Family Living Trust and Quebecor Inc. say they have extended the deadline to Feb. 17 from Tuesday.

If approved, the deal will see Rogers acquire Shaw, while Quebecor’s Videotron subsidiary will acquire Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless business.

The agreement is still awaiting approval by Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne who must sign off on the transfer of wireless spectrum licenses from Shaw to Videotron.

The companies say they are continuing to work with the government to secure the final approval needed to close the transactions.

The deal cleared a key hurdle last week after the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a Competition Bureau request to overturn approval of the agreement by the Competition Tribunal.

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