08:17 AM EDT, 10/26/2022 (MT Newswires) -- After market close, RBC Capital Markets noted on Wednesday, ISED in a statement provided additional clarity around the conditions for potential approval of the Rogers-Shaw-Quebecor transactions with respect to spectrum transfers, including: the requirement that any new wireless licences acquired by Videotron would need to remain in possession for at least 10 years; the expectation that wireless pricing for Ontario and Western Canada be comparable to what Videotron is currently offering in Quebec (which according to ISED is on average 20% lower than the rest of Canada). In addition, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that Rogers has put forward a settlement proposal in advance of upcoming mediation later this week with the Competition Bureau under the Tribunal process.
On Impliations, RBC said given the Competition Bureau's public position against the proposed Rogers-Shaw-Quebecor transactions, it finds it difficult to conclude with any real conviction that this additional clarity by ISED, as well as the reported settlement proposal by Rogers, will move the needle in favour of a negotiated settlement as part of upcoming mediation under the Tribunal process. "Having said this," RBC added, "we view these developments as directionally positive given the apparent lack of progress to date, and we reiterate our longstanding view that the proposed transactions are highly supportive of current telecom policy in Canada, and believe Quebecor is among the best positioned (if not the best positioned) to not only meet but exceed ISED's conditions."