Rogers-Shaw Merger Gets Final Approval, With Freedom Mobile Sold to Quebecor; Outlooks Are Unchanged

After two years and numerous twists and turns, Rogers and Shaw finally received the final approval needed to complete their merger, with consent from the industry minister for Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, or ISED. As previously agreed, Quebecor will take over Freedom Mobile, which comprises most of Shaw’s wireless business. The ISED formalized some requirements for Rogers and Quebecor, but most of these were consistent with terms the two companies previously stated were acceptable. Nothing in the approval changed our long-held view that the deal is valuation neutral for Rogers and positive for Quebecor. We already expected the deal to be approved, so we are maintaining our fair value estimates of CAD 73 for Rogers and CAD 35 for Quebecor.