OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau announced today that it
will not challenge BCE Inc’s acquisition of certain Thomson Corporation assets.
The assets being acquired include The Globe and Mail and related Internet properties. BCE intends to combine these assets with its CTV broadcast interests.
The Bureau’s review of the matter focused on the economic issues associated with the acquisition, and in particular, the potential impact on advertisers. The Bureau concluded that, at this time, newspapers, Internet and television are not competing amongst each other for retail advertising. Therefore, it has concluded that the transaction is not likely to lead to a
substantial lessening of competition in any of such markets.
As part of its examination, the Bureau also looked at vertical issues concerning high speed Internet access. It looked closely at the ability of competing Internet Service Providers to access the network infrastructure of both BCE and the cable companies as a means to deliver high speed Internet access.
The Bureau determined that high speed Internet access was not a cause for concern as competitors already have access to the telephone networks for the purpose of providing high speed Internet access.
In addition, the issue of cable network access has been addressed by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) which mandated the four largest cable companies to provide access to their networks.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency whose mandate is to maintain and encourage fair competition in Canada
