Thursday, December 17, 2015

Canada's Shaw Communications Diversifies with Bid for WIND Mobile

Shaw Communications agreed to acquire WIND Mobile Corp. for approximately CAD$1.6 billion.

WIND is Canada's largest non-incumbent wireless services provider, serving approximately 940,000 subscribers across Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta with 50MHz of spectrum in each of these regions. The company reports a 47% increase in its subscriber base over the past two years which has translated into strong growth in revenue and EBITDA. In calendar year 2015, WIND is expected to generate $485 million in revenue and $65 million in EBITDA. A scheduled upgrade to 4G LTE services is planned by 2017.


Shaw Communications, which is headquartered in Calgary, is a diversified cable, communications and media company, serving 3.2 million customers mainly in  British Columbia and Alberta, with smaller systems in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northern Ontario.

“The global telecom landscape is quickly evolving towards 'mobile-first' product offerings as consumers demand ubiquitous connectivity from their service providers. The acquisition of WIND provides Shaw with a unique platform in the wireless sector which will allow us to offer a converged network solution to our customers that leverages our full portfolio of best-in-class telecom services, including fibre, cable, WiFi, and now wireless," said Chief Executive Officer, Brad Shaw.

http://newsroom.shaw.ca/