Canadian Federal Government Approves Wind Mobile Transfer Deal

Wind Mobile CEO Anthony Lacavera’s transfer plan has been approved by the federal government.

Earlier this afternoon, Industry Minister James Moor announced that they deal to transfer control of Wind Mobile to a group of Canadian and U.S. investors has been approved under the Investment Canada Act. Control of Wind’s holdings of the wireless spectrum will be passed to AAL Acquisitions Corp., which is the investment group that purchased the Canadian mobile carrier.

The conditions of the deal require that Wind Mobile’s head office remain in Canada, that the majority of the carrier’s head office employees remain in Canada, and that the carrier remains under the Canadian federal and provincial laws.

The investment group has also promised to significantly invest capital with the aim of purchasing spectrum and growing the carrier’s business across Canada.

“The transaction was structured so that Mr. Lacavera’s holding company Globalive Capital (formerly known as AAL Corp.) first bought Amsterdam-based telecom conglomerate VimpelCom Ltd.’s interest in the company outright. That did not require regulatory approval, as Globalive already controlled Wind.

The second step of the deal involved Industry Canada reviewing the transfer of control from Globalive to AAL Acquisitions Corp. – the consortium of financial players that agreed to refinance the company – under the foreign investment review considerations of the Investment Canada Act, which requires that there be an overall economic benefit to Canada.”

In a statement Lacavera said that the acquisition of Wind Mobile will help contribute to a more competitive wireless industry in Canada.

Wind Mobile currently has about 750,000 customers across Canada, with the largest concentration of customers in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta.

[via The Globe and Mail]