Rogers, Shaw deal mediation with Canada’s competition bureau fails

Rogers Communications Inc RCIb.TO and Shaw Communications SJRb.TO have failed to mediate their differences with Canada’s competition bureau over their C$20 billion ($14.75 billion) merger, the companies said on Thursday.

“The mediation did not yield a negotiated settlement,” the companies said in a joint statement, adding that they remained committed to completing the transactions.

The statement did not mention whether the parties would meet again for mediation on Friday or whether the dispute would head to the tribunal for a hearing that is set to begin on Nov. 7.

The government’s recent intervention had raised hopes that Canada would approve the merger deal, which has been blocked on competition concerns.

Rogers, which launched its bid for Shaw in March 2021, has offered to sell Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc QBRb.TO to allay the antitrust authority’s concerns.

But the watchdog has said the sale is not sufficient to overcome its concerns about market concentration.

Rogers declined to comment beyond the statement, while Shaw and the bureau did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nasdaq