Canadian operator Mobilicity announced that its CAD 465 million proposed acquisition by Rogers Communications has been approved by the Ontario Superior Court and deemed the best way to realise value for Mobilicity’s shareholders. Under the terms of the deal, Wind Mobile will receive new spectrum previously held by Mobilicity and Shaw, which it says will at least double its network capacity in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern & Eastern Ontario. The deal also sees Rogers complete the acquisition of Shaw’s AWS-1 spectrum for LTE in British Columbia, Alberta and Southern Ontario.
Pursuant to the Rogers sale, Mobilicity's trade liabilities will continue to be dealt with in the ordinary course, all employees, dealers and other obligations will be assumed by Rogers and services for subscribers will continue uninterrupted. The transaction is still subject to approval by Industry Canada and the Competition Bureau.
Mobilicity intends to seek a vesting and distribution order on 29 June. The purchase price will be applied to repay all of the outstanding first and second lien debt of Mobilicity, with the remainder being used to repay certain remaining unsecured creditors on a pro rata basis.
Chief Restructuring Officer William Aziz said, "I'm pleased that, following a robust sale and bidding process, we were able to agree on a purchase price to complete a going-concern sale that addresses the needs of a number of stakeholders. I thank subscribers, employees, dealers, suppliers and creditors for their continued support of Mobilicity throughout the restructuring process."
Wind Mobile CEO Alek Krstajic said, "This will significantly improve our network performance from Ontario to the Pacific, enabling us to deploy new technology and accelerate the development of our LTE network and other services."
Rogers CEO Guy Laurence welcomed the prospective acquisition, saying "This agreement is great news for our customers and for Canadians. We're pleased to have worked with the government to put this unused valuable resource to work. We got the spectrum we needed where we needed it for our customers and this keeps Rogers in the leading competitive position across the country."
