The president and CEO of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, did not want to reveal his game on the potential acquisition of Freedom Mobile, but he recognizes that the family saga which shakes Rogers brings its share of uncertainty.
Rogers has yet to get the green light from regulatory authorities for its $ 26 billion purchase offer for Shaw. Analysts anticipate that a condition of the approval will be the sale of Freedom Mobile, a provider owned by Shaw. Quebecor has expressed interest in the division as part of a larger expansion plan outside of Quebec.
However, a power struggle worthy of a television soap opera shakes Rogers. Competitors Bell and Telus asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on Wednesday to postpone the hearings due to the internal conflict. They are due to start on November 22.
“We’re having a hard time knowing what’s going on with Rogers and Shaw,” said Péladeau at a conference with financial analysts to discuss third quarter results. We are not going to open our game. We believe however that we have at our disposal the best tools and financial means for Freedom Mobile. “
The executive did not want to say whether the acquisition of Freedom Mobile was essential to its plan to expand across Canada. However, he mentioned that the company had several elements at its disposal to continue its expansion, in particular the acquisition of 294 blocks of spectrum at a price of 830 million carried out last summer, a favorable judgment of the CRTC which forced Bell, Rogers and Telus to share their network with a new operator and a functional digital platform.
Tight relationships
Mr. Péladeau points out that the Quebec market was made “quite mature” and that he believed that the rest of Canada, where competition is less strong, offered lucrative business opportunities.
Relations are also strained between Rogers and Quebecor at the moment. The Videotron subsidiary has filed a $ 850 million lawsuit against the Toronto company. Videotron claims that Rogers “artificially caused an impasse” in an agreement between the two companies to create a common wireless network in Quebec and Ottawa. Quebecor would have made the necessary efforts to settle the dispute without going through the courts, affirms Mr. Péladeau. “In light of what is happening at Rogers, we understand why our discussions were not a priority. We hope that when things calm down at Rogers, we will have the chance to have a constructive dialogue. “
Quebecor’s telecommunications sector alone, with $ 939.5 million in revenues, accounted for the largest share of the company’s third-quarter revenues, up 3.3% to $ 1.15 billion. Adjusted earnings per share reached $ 0.73, compared to $ 0.69 for the same period last year.