Freedom Mobile would be much more competitive in the hands of Quebecor than if it had to operate as an independent entity, pleaded the president and chief executive of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, during the unveiling of the results for the second quarter.
In May, the Competition Bureau rejected Rogers’ $26 billion bid to acquire Shaw. Quebecor’s $2.85 billion takeover bid to acquire the Freedom Mobile division, reached in June, did not allay Bureau fears during mediation in early July. The case could be decided by the Competition Tribunal.
“For us, it is incomprehensible that the Competition Bureau believes that competition will be stronger if the Shaw acquisition is rejected and Freedom Mobile operates alone, denounced Mr. Péladeau during a conference call with financial analysts. to discuss second quarter results. It will be a much weaker competitor. »
There are still many regulatory elements to be clarified regarding Videotron’s parent company expansion plans outside of Quebec. The transaction with Rogers and Shaw still needs to be approved. In another matter, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has not yet clarified the regulatory conditions surrounding its decision to allow regional operators to lease access to the networks of major Canadian telecommunications companies, provided that they have a local frequency spectrum themselves.
Waiting postpones the moment when the Canadian telecommunications market can be more competitive, Mr. Péladeau believes. “With all due respect, we believe that the longer the Competition Bureau and the CRTC wait to act, the longer they encourage an oligopoly that limits competition outside of Quebec. »
Results in line with expectations
The Montreal company unveiled, earlier Thursday, financial results in line with analysts’ expectations for the second quarter. Quebecor recorded a net profit of 156.3 million, compared to 124.7 million for the same period last year. Revenues, for their part, amounted to 1.12 billion, down 1.4%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share reached 68 cents, an increase of 3 cents compared to the same period last year. The figure is the same as analysts’ forecast before the earnings release, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
While Quebecor hasn’t given a major update on its expansion plans in the rest of Canada and the results are in line with analysts’ forecasts, Vince Valentini of TD Securities says the results will be seen as ” without history “.