Globalive has signed a network and spectrum sharing agreement with telecom giant Telus to make Freedom Mobile available nationwide if successfully acquired by Globalive.
The agreement will last 20 years.
Rogers is currently in the process of selling Freedom Mobile, which is part of Shaw’s network. Rogers’ executives hope the move will appease competition concerns and aid its $26 billion merger with Shaw.
Globalive says the agreement with Telus will allow the company to deliver services with lower pricing and a quality network, “establishing a vigorously competitive environment for decades to come.”
The company says the partnership will eliminate any possibility of Rogers reacquiring Freedom Mobile.
“Canada needs a truly independent fourth carrier to ensure consumers have the benefits of a competitive market and a level playing field,” Anthony Lacavera, Globalive’s chairman, said. “We’re excited to bring Canadians closer to that reality with this transformational announcement.”
The historic deal with Telus marks the first time an established network has entered into an agreement with an independent competitor, Globalive says.
Globalive founded Wind Mobile in 2008 and sold it to Shaw for $1.6 billion in 2015. The company was renamed Freedom Mobile in 2016.
Lacavera has been vocal about his company’s desire to acquire Freedom Mobile and has made an offer worth $3.75 billion.
“We’re the only ones that have competed successfully against the big three in the last 30 years. We’re the only ones that built a viable competitor that was standalone and independent,” Lacavera told MobileSyrup in March.
But Globalive’s offer isn’t the only one on the table. Xplornet and Québecor have also been in talks to acquire Freedom Mobile, along with a group of buyers consisting of LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada, the Musqueam Capital Corp, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Fengate Asset Management, and Aquilini Equities.
Source: Globalive Capital
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