The shares Rogers is divesting are separate holdings in Cogeco Inc. and its subsidiary Cogeco Communications. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is buying the shares and will keep enough (about 16.1 per cent of Cogeco Communications) to be an “anchor investor,” but will sell some at a discount to Cogeco to be extinguished and others to the market through a bought block trade. (The Logic)
Talking point: For Rogers, the sale helps pay off some debt, which soared when it bought former rival Shaw. Like Rogers and Shaw, Cogeco began as a broadcasting company that moved into cable television and then internet service. Cogeco had been a previous Rogers takeover target, but its controlling Audet family rebuffed Rogers’s bid in 2020. The Shaw deal came together months later. Cogeco has a subsidiary with customers in the eastern U.S. and the Caisse said it’s backing the Quebec telco’s plan for North American expansion.