There’s already been a bid placed to purchase Freedom Mobile from Rogers, according to The Globe and Mail. The offer comes from Globalive Capital and Anthony Lacavera, the former founder of Wind Mobile, before the latter was sold to Shaw in 2016 and rebranded to Freedom Mobile.
The Globalive Capital bid was $3.75 billion in cash, with financing from a group of investors, led by U.S. investment firms Twin Point Capital and Baupost Group, according to a source speaking with The Globe and Mail.
The offer is to acquire all aspects of Freedom Mobile including its wireless licenses, accounts, cellphone towers and retail stores. The bid was sent to Rogers last week.
Freedom Mobile currently has roughly two million subscribers in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.
Rogers has plans to acquire Shaw for $26 billion, with the deal under review by the Competition Bureau, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, with the deal expected to complete this summer, according to the companies.
The federal government has stated Rogers will need to divest Freedom Mobile for the deal to go through.
Rogers said at a conference held by the Bank of Nova Scotia last week the Shaw deal was mainly “a cable acquisition for us”, according to CEO Tony Staffieri, noting it was “90 per cent of the transaction”.
Earlier this week it was reported Rogers was in talks with potential buyers to sell off Freedom Mobile.
Back in December, Lacavera told The Globe he wanted to buy back Freedom Mobile. “I’m expecting it’s going to be a competitive process,” said Lacavera in an interview at the time. “Obviously, I think I have the most knowledge of the asset. I built it from scratch.”
