One of Ontario's most popular telephone and internet providers has been the subject of a buyout offer.
As first reported by Bloomberg, Cogeco received on Wednesday what it called an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Altice USA Inc., in partnership with Rogers Communications, one of Canada's largest telecom firms.
The $10 billion buyout offer, if it went through, would place control of Cogeco's Atlantic Broadband operations in the US with Altice USA. It would also place Cogeco's operations in Quebec and Ontario under Rogers' control. Bloomberg also reported that the deal promises a premium on multiple-voting shares currently held by Cogeco's founding family, the Audets.
"We greatly respect and appreciate the legacy the Audet family has created with Cogeco, building an iconic company across Canada and the US that is driven by superior customer service and continuous investments in technology," said Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei in a media release. "We are pleased to present this very attractive offer for Cogeco, and are confident that Mr. Audet and the Cogeco boards will act in the best interest of all shareholders and fairly evaluate this offer."
Altice USA is the fourth-largest telecom company in the US, operating the Suddenlink and Optimum brands. It also operates i24NEWS, a 24-hour international news channel, and News 12 Networks, a collection of local TV newsrooms in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Cogeco is headquartered in Montreal, with Louis Audet serving as executive chairman. In addition to cable television and internet access, Cogeco operates YourTV, a network of community channels with affiliates in Windsor, Chatham-Kent, and Sarnia. The company also owns 22 French-language radio stations in Quebec and Ontario.
Already there are indications that the proposal may not have a smooth time getting through. In a media release Wednesday, Cogeco Communications stated that it's not for sale.
"The non-binding proposal of Altice USA and Rogers Communications Inc., which was pre-emptively announced by Altice and Rogers, has been reviewed by Gestion Audem Inc., a company controlled by the members of the Audet family, holding 69 per cent of all voting rights of CGO, which in turn controls 82.9 per cent of all voting rights of CCA," read the release. "Gestion Audem Inc. has already indicated that it does not intend to sell its shares and will not support the proposal. The corporations will not comment any further at this time."
