Canada competition tribunal approves $14.8 bln Rogers-Shaw merger

Canada’s competition tribunal on Thursday approved the C$20 billion ($14.77 billion) merger between Rogers Communications Inc and Shaw Communications Inc that would create the country’s second-largest telecom provider after Bell.

Rogers’ proposed deal had been blocked by Canada’s antitrust bureau on grounds that it would lessen competition in a country where wireless charges are among the highest in the world.

In a ruling late on Thursday, the Competition Tribunal dismissed the Commissioner of Competition’s request to oppose the deal, saying that the deal is “not likely to prevent or lessen competition substantially.”