U.S. cable firm Altice made an unsolicited $10.3-billion offer for Cogeco, under which it would take the firm’s U.S. assets and sell its Canadian ones to Rogers. Cogeco said its controlling shareholder, the Audet family, didn’t support the proposal and wouldn’t sell its shares. (The Logic)

Talking point: The stocks of both firms jumped on the news, with Cogeco up about 20 per cent and Rogers up seven per cent. If Rogers can get the Audet family to change its mind, it would add about 1.8 million customers in Canada. Rogers would pick up 627,608 television subscribers, roughly a one-third increase on its current 1.6 million subscriber base. It would also edge out Stingray to become the owner of the second-most radio stations, with 77 compared to Bell’s 109. The sale would also eliminate a regulatory risk. Cogeco has long-advocated for the government to force Rogers, and other large telecoms, to sell it network access. The purchasers appear willing to sweeten the deal for the Audet family: so far, they’ve offered an $800-million premium if they’ll approve the sale. The Audets rejected that, but even if they can be brought around, Quebec Premier François Legault will be another stumbling block. In a Wednesday interview with a Cogeco-owned radio station, Legault discussed how Investissement Québec, the investment arm of the Quebec government, could intervene to prevent the sale. The Caisse blocked Rogers’s attempted takeover of Videotron in 2000.