Rogers Puts The Shopping Channel Up for Sale, Offers Exceed $300M [Report]

Rogers has put its television asset The Shopping Channel up for sale, according to sources speaking with Reuters, with the sale possibly exceeding $300 million:

Canada’s Rogers Communications has put its The Shopping Channel up for sale and received interest from foreign buyers for the television asset that may fetch over C$300 million ($237 million), according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The shopping channel logo

Sources say Rogers started the sale process roughly six weeks ago and has already received first round bids, with second round bids currently being lined up.

Liberty Interactive (QVC is one of its divisions) is one bidder, claims sources, while others include U.S. home shopping channel operators HSN and EVINE Live, along with private equity firms.

Multiple sources say Canadian regulations could potentially block the sale of The Shopping Channel to a foreign interest. One possibly workaround could involve foreign buyers acquiring a majority equity stake, but allowing the Canadian entity to retain majority voting control of its operations, headed by a Canadian.

Another source also said “There is also huge uncertainty moving forward due to the change of the distribution framework in Canada,” referring to recent CRTC pick and pay regulations for TV.

Rogers also could drop the sale if the numbers did not make financial sense, say sources. The company apparently sees less value in the asset as consumer habits change and more people shop online.

Rogers 3.0 is a plan outlined by CEO Guy Laurence to make the company leaner, improve customer service and “re-establish our growth by better leveraging our assets and consistently executing as One Rogers.”

Back in May Rogers axed 100 jobs as it eliminated all OMNI Newscasts, along with other various positions out west. Earlier this week, the company announced it had hired longtime Bell executive Rick Brace to head its media division, which according to Rogers is a $1.8 billion dollar business.

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