BCE’s plan to acquire GLENTEL, a Canadian mobile products distributor, has hit a speed bump. Rogers Communications this week filed an injunction with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to block the CA$670 million deal. It claims that its agreement with GLENTEL requires that the distributor obtain approval from Rogers before it can proceed with the acquisition.
GLENTEL today responded and called Rogers’s claim “without merit.” It suggested that Rogers could end their agreement and stop selling its products and services through the distributor but that it “has no right under its agreement to block the acquisition of GLENTEL.”
“For over 25 years, GLENTEL has distributed Rogers mobile products through our Canadian retail stores and we hope to continue to do so. The BCE acquisition does not affect GLENTEL’s agreement with Rogers which will continue to remain in force after the acquisition completes. Rogers has the right to remove their products from our Canadian stores if they choose or to terminate its agreement with us, but has no right under its agreement to block the acquisition of GLENTEL, which operates in Canada, the United States, Australia and the Philippines,” said Tom Skidmore, GLENTEL President and CEO.
BCE’s acquisition of GLENTEL is expected to close in Q1 2015. It’s not clear if this injunction will now delay or derail the deal completely.
GLENTEL offers a range of mobile devices from a number of carriers, including Bell Mobility, Chatr, Fido, Rogers Wireless, SaskTel and Virgin Mobile under the brands WIRELESSWAVE and Tbooth wireless. It also provides retail management services for Costco Canada, Samsung Canada, and Target Canada.
Sources : The Financial Post // GLENTEL