Telecoms and media conglomerate Quebecor has proposed Canada’s former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to be its new chair to succeed Francoise Bertrand, who has chosen not to stand for re-election at the company’s AGM next month.
Quebecor owns…
Telecoms and media conglomerate Quebecor has proposed Canada’s former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to be its new chair to succeed Francoise Bertrand, who has chosen not to stand for re-election at the company’s AGM next month.
Quebecor owns regional quad play operator Videotron, which acquired a swathe of 700 MHz spectrum across Canada in an auction earlier that gives it the opportunity to expand its footprint across the country.
The appointment of Mulroney, who has ties to the current Conservative administration, has led to speculation that he may have been appointed to aid Videotron’s nationwide ambitions.
Desjardins analyst Maher Yaghi suggested that Mulroney brings a lot of connections with the federal government and could help as Videotron would need regulatory changes to rollout services across more regions.
Yaghi, speaking in a TV interview with BNN, said that Quebecor has had faced a negative political environment outside of Quebec due to Pierre Karl owning the company. The industrialist recently left his role as vice chair of the conglomerate to pursue a political career with separatist party Parti Quebecois.
“A lot of things have to happen on the national regulatory side for them to be able to launch a successful wireless play in the rest of Canada,” Yaghi said.
“Most importantly wholesale pricing in Canada needs to be regulated, which is currently not the case … By regulating wholesale pricing and putting that price low enough you could have companies like Quebecor becoming profitable operating outside of their network.”
Canada’s government wants to see the creation of a fourth national mobile operator because it thinks this would lower prices and improve coverage. The big three operators – Bell, Rogers and Telus – have been blocked from acquiring AWS spectrum from smaller operators.
Shareholders will be asked to ratify Mulroney’s appointment at the company’s AGM on 19 June. Mulroney was Canada’s prime minister between 1984 and 1993, and leader of the now-defunct centre-right Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, which formed what is now the Conservative Party of Canada.
