BIG
Telecom giant Bell has completed its acquisition of Distributel, according to its Q4 earnings report.
The report highlights a number of areas of customer growth through the acquisition. However, this is the first time Bell has mentioned the acquisition publically since announcing its intentions to acquire Distributel in September.
More to come…
Distributel was looking to acquire Shaw’s wireless assets in April, a publicly shared document at the Competition Tribunal’s hearing into the Rogers-Shaw merger show.
Distributel made two proposals, but Rogers never acknowledged the offers. Distributel made the offers before Bell announced it was acquiring the Ottawa-based telecommunications company.
The affidavit of Christopher Hickey, director of regulatory affairs at Distributel, says Bell’s acquisition wasn’t related to efforts to acquire Freedom Mobile from Shaw.
Another document shared with the public acknowledges the acquisitions of Ebox, which Bell announced it would take over, and VMedia, which Québecor acquired. The document calls the latter acquisition a “strategic” move, citing the Rogers-Shaw merger.
Rogers started meeting with prospective Freedom Mobile buyers earlier this year. As previously reported, the company was talking with multiple parties to secure a deal to satisfy competition concerns brought by Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The company agreed to sell Freedom to Québecor subsidiary Vidéotron for $2.85 billion. It’s not clear how much Distributel offered.
Distributel’s plans were revealed on day five of the hearing, which is in its second week. The day started with cross-examining representatives from Telus, which showed the company attempted to “kill, shape, and slow” the merger.
The details, marked initially to be confidential, were shared with the public after Chief Justice Paul Crampton said the parties needed to make efforts to be transparent. The first week of the merger saw the parties going behind closed doors on several occasions. Justice Crampton’s move to make things public suggests not everything discussed in-camera in week one needed to be that way.
Despite the transparency efforts, not all witnesses appeared before the public. Namely, Comcast, the American telecom company, had their session behind closed doors. The company argued they were only made aware of the need to be in a public session 20 minutes before they had to speak, and their prepared statement was made with complete confidentially in mind.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Canada’s independent telecom market continues to shrink. Ottawa-based Distributel will join Bell’s growing roster of companies.
In a press release, Bell says the merger will support Distributel’s growth in residential and business internet services.
“Distributel is a highly successful company with experienced industry talent and we’re excited for them to join the Bell group of companies,” Blaik Kirby, group president of consumer and small and medium business at Bell, said.
“As part of Bell, Distributel will enhance its innovative services for residential and small and medium business customers, backed by Bell’s resources and technology.”
It’s not clear what the financial value of the merger is. However, Bell says its investment will provide Distributel with resources and technology to help the businesses grow.
“With this announcement, Distributel is better positioned to compete and deliver on our decades-long commitment to bringing choice and affordability to Canadians from coast to coast to coast,” Matt Stein, Distributel’s CEO, said.
The press release notes Distributel will “operate independently” once the acquisition closes. The merger is subject to regulatory approvals.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Bell