Alberta’s attorney general will intervene in Competition Tribunal proceedings over the $26 billion merger between Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications, according to a notice filed Monday.
Posted at 1:10 p.m.
The notice of intervention says the “hits and misses” of the deal will impact Alberta consumers and the province’s economy.
He also points out that the attorney general “is not taking a position” on the agreement for the moment.
Shaw’s head office is in Calgary. The company provides wireless services to more than two million consumers in the province through the Freedom Mobile and Shaw Mobile brands.
Rogers announced in June that it had reached an agreement with Montreal-based Quebecor to sell Freedom Mobile to it for $2.85 billion, in the hope that this would allay Competition Bureau concerns about the Rogers-Shaw merger. The Bureau attempts to block the transaction.
A mediation process between Rogers, Shaw and the Competition Bureau, which all parties agreed to participate in last month, is due to begin this week.
Companies in this story: (TSX: RCI.B, TSX: SJR.B, TSX: QBR.B)