The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has given its stamp of approval in the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s sale of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) and its sports television channels to two of Canada’s biggest media companies, BCE and Rogers Communications.
Rogers and BCE’s Bell Canada signed a deal late last year to buy a controlling stake in MLSE, the country’s biggest sports franchise company, from Teachers’ for $1.07 billion.
The approval follows an announcement in May that the federal Competition Bureau would not challenge the deal. The bureau said it was actively reviewing those concerns and won’t hesitate to take action if it determines the Competition Act has been violated. The legislation provides the bureau with a one-year period following the deal’s closure to bring a challenge to the Competition Tribunal.
Under terms of the deal, Rogers and Bell will pay Teachers’ about $533 million apiece for their respective 37.5% chunks of MLSE. Minority owner Larry Tannenbaum, through his company Kilmer Sports, will boost his current stake in MLSE by five per cent to 25%.