Shaw Says Tribunal's Ruling On Rogers Deal 'comprehensive, Thoughtful, Well-reasoned'

(RTTNews) - Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR) said Monday that the Canadian Competition Tribunal's ruling is comprehensive, thoughtful, well-reasoned and clear in its finding that the proposed Shaw-Videotron-Rogers transactions are "not likely to prevent or lessen competition substantially."

The Tribunal ruled that the merger of Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.TO, RCI) with Shaw Communications is not likely to result in materially higher prices or a decline in service or innovation. The Tribunal also noted that the Federal Antitrust Commissioner failed to prove that the deal would cause significant harm to competition in the industry. The merger deal is worth $14.8 billion.

Shaw said the Tribunal found accurately that if the transactions are allowed to proceed, "the strengthening of Rogers' position in Alberta and British Columbia…will also likely contribute to an increased intensity of competition in those markets."

Shaw said the Tribunal's decision pointed out that the Commissioner's position and case relied heavily on evidence from principal competitors, including TELUS. In attempting to block these transactions, the decision makes clear that the Commissioner's position served the interests of TELUS and not consumers.

According to Shaw, the Tribunal disagreed with the premise of the Commissioner's case that focused on a non-existent transaction in which Rogers acquires Freedom that no party intends to proceed with and that will never happen, rather than the clearly pro-competitive reality of Videotron's acquisition of Freedom.

The Federal Antitrust Commissioner launched his appeal before the Tribunal's decision was rendered Sunday evening. It is now clear that the Tribunal rejected the evidence of the most important witnesses of the Commissioner, as well as all of his key complaints and theories. In the circumstances, Shaw urged the Commissioner to reconsider his decision to pursue an appeal, Shaw Communications said.

Shaw noted that it looks forward to continuing to engage with government officials to obtain the final regulatory approval required for its spectrum licences to be transferred to Videotron.