WIND Mobile CEO Anthony Lacavera today dismissed rumours that a management shakeup was coming to the Canadian carrier. “There is no management shuffle planned at Wind Canada,” CEO Anthony Lacavera said in an e-mail on Monday. “A lot of progress has been made and I am very proud of our team.”
Speculation began shortly after the Canadian government loosened foreign ownership rules for telecom companies earlier this month. Foreign companies will now be able take up full 100% ownership of any carrier with less than a 10 percent market share. WIND Mobile is such a carrier.
The departure of Ossama Bessada, VimpelCom Executive Vice President and Head of the Europe and North America Business Unit, who is now planning to relocate to Canada added fuel the the rumours, especially as WIND Mobile has been financially backed by Orascom, a carrier which has since merged with VimpelCom.
UBS Securities Canada analyst Phillip Huang suggested that the announcement was not coincidence. “We believe Mr. Bessada has been closely involved with the development of Wind Canada,” Phillip Huang wrote in a note today. “Despite his intention to leave [VimpelCom], we find the destination for his relocation and the timing of the announcement intriguing (2 weeks after the relaxation of telecom foreign ownership restrictions).”
Huang adds that WIND Mobile’s threats not to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction could be a sign that it has put itself up for sale.
Read more: The Globe and Mail