BCE was a bidder on SJRInteresting. Looks like BCE wants to expand westward.
>>>According to the filing, Rogers initially offered $35.00 per share, while "Party A" (Bell) proposed a deal at $37.00 per share in cash and stock. Rogers later bumped its offer to $40.50 per share on Feb. 22, while "Party A" raised its non-binding proposal to $39.25 per share before further hiking to $40.50 per share -- thus matching Rogers -- on Feb. 27. According to the regulatory filing, however, the proposal from "Party A" "continued to contain certain regulatory issues that had previously been identified as being of concern." ... While the specific issues weren't identified in the filing, a source familiar with the matter told BNN Bloomberg that Shaw’s board wanted a so-called “hell or high water” clause. This is a clause in which the seller insists the buyer takes on all the regulatory risk and puts the buyer in the position of agreeing to any conditions the regulator imposes, no matter what. The source said Bell could not agree to that clause because from its perspective it would expose the company to unlimited risk.The source noted the "hell or high water" clause could have put Bell in a position where it would potentially have to sell newly-acquired spectrum. The source added that if Canadian regulators want an effective fourth wireless carrier, there is a risk that Rogers may have to give up newly acquired spectrum from the 3500MHz auction this summer to ensure this fourth competitor is effective and can compete in 5G, which the source described as being a big monetary risk.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bce-said-to-have-dropped-shaw-bid-amid-hell-or-high-water-clause-1.1594672