The Competition Bureau has stepped up its opposition to the proposed $ 26 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications by Rogers Communications Inc., in new submissions to the Competition Tribunal ahead of weeks of upcoming hearings to take place this fall.
In legal documents released after the markets closed, the independent body disputed Rogers ’efficiency claims and said taking on its closest competitor was counter-competitive and would hurt consumers because of the higher price. , substandard services and missing changes.
The organization also argues that Shaw Communications ’proposed sales of the Freedom Mobile service are“ not an effective remedy ”because it will not replace the growing competition that Shaw Mobile will offer in Alberta and British Columbia and make Freedom Mobile“ weaker. competitors thereafter. ”than without the agreement.
Not enough income
The bureau said the efficiencies that the deal would create, Rogers said, were not enough to outweigh the anti-competitive effects and speculative, unproven and unlikely to be achieved or exaggerated. This indicates that the declared efficiency is based on unrealistic assumptions and wrong methods.
The Competition Bureau also claimed that the subsequent price increase would shift wealth from low- and middle-income groups to shareholders, including ultra-wealthy members of corporate family-owned groups.
Five weeks of hearings are scheduled to begin the week of Nov. 7, followed by written and oral arguments.
Source: Radio-Canada
