This deal is moving blazingly fast.
Mobilicity entered the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at 10:00am today with an offer from Rogers to purchase its assets for $465 million. Six minutes later, a press release was issued, stating Industry Canada’s approval of the transaction.
“The transactions mean Rogers is completing the previously announced acquisition of Shaw’s AWS-1 spectrum and acquiring 100% ownership of Mobilicity,” said the statement. As expected, Rogers will also give “certain AWS-1 spectrum” to WIND Mobile in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern Ontario and Eastern Ontario.
While Industry Canada has given the green light, this deal still needs to be approved by the Competition Bureau and the courts. The official purchase price is $440 million and part of it will be “offset by tax losses valued at approximately $175 million which Rogers will acquire.”
Guy Laurence, president and CEO of Rogers, said, “We’re basically adding multiple lanes on our wireless highway in three key markets overnight. This means faster speeds and better quality for our customers as they use more and more mobile video… This agreement is great news for our customers and for Canadians. We’re pleased to have worked with the government to put this unused valuable resource to work. We got the spectrum we needed where we needed it for our customers and this keeps Rogers in the leading competitive position across the country.”
“The transaction with Rogers provides the best possible outcome for Mobilicity’s customers, dealers and employees,” said Anthony Booth, president of Mobilicity. “Rogers ensures certainty of service for Mobilicity customers, provides a great network, national coverage and high quality products and services. At the same time, Mobilicity employees will have the opportunity to work at a great Canadian company in Rogers.”
As a result of the transaction, Rogers will gain an additional 150,000 wireless customers and 30 more employees to its roster.
Developing… We’ll update this story as we learn more.
[source]Newswire[/source]
